Monster's Life
by ginobi47
Summary: This is most certainly NOT your regular Log Horizon Fanfic
1. Chapter 1

There has always been one point in every gamers life where he/she had wished that the real world is exactly like **(INSERT NAME OF GAME HERE)**.

It is a perfectly normal wish to live in a world that is not this world.

After all, who finds enjoyment in such a boring world such as our world?

Wouldnt it be more fun if one can just get up and go on an adventure?

To see new sights, fight exotic creatures and use flashy magic. Surely, that would be much more enjoying that working like a robot on a 9-to-5 job?

Of course it is!

Even if our world is under the illusion of peace, it is still boring as hell.

But many have come to realize that such wishful thinking are nothing more than childhood fantasies, especially when reality gives you a painful boot to the balls.

Reality has always been a gamer's worst enemy. After all, money is require do pay for electricity, food, game console, internet connection, etc. And it goes without saying that games require a fairly large sum of money... Which unfortunately requires a gamer to work.

Hence the childish illogical wish of every gamer in the world.

However, as the famous saying once said: **"Be careful of what you wish for... You might just get it"**

For the gamers who desired the game world, the world responded with the Apocalypse.

But for a certain gamer, reality decided to give him the middle finger, a mountain of headaches and one hell of an adventure.

-:-

**Day 1**

Prior to the Apocalypse, Jonathan Doe was just like any other Elder Tale player in the world. After a fairly long day at work, he decided to play non stop until morning of the following day, which happens to be his day off.

Interesting enough, the implementation of the **Novasphere Pioneers **patch also coincides with his gaming fest. Quite a fortunate coincidence.

In anticipation of this, he and some of his fellow guildmates decided to welcome the new patch by exploring the new maps and contents the second it is available.

However, the moment Novasphere Pioneers went live was the moment when common sense was flushed down the toilet.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the floor of a cave. For some reason, he couldnt talk or move as he wants. When he tried to check the state of his body, boy was he shocked

His hands were as small as a 5 month old child... And it was green!

Upon scanning his surrounding, he spots a large number (about 50 or so) of extremely ugly looking infants with green skin, sharp nose and pointy ears.

Amids the infants was one ancient looking fellow with similar greenish features as the infants. He went around giving names to each and every infant in the cave.

Judging from the older green skin, Jonathan deduces that everyone in the cave belonged to the **Gremlin **race, a common low level monster the American Server of Elder Tale.

For some unknown reason, Elder Tale's Gremlin looks nothing like the gremlin found in modern mythology. They are closer to the **Goblin** that was seen in the **Lord of the Rings** movies.

Then again, the American Server always did take a lot of references to John Ronald Reuel Tolkein (creator of The Lord of the Rings series) works so it really is no surprise.

While Jonathan Doe tried to make sense of his situation, the old Gremlin eventually reaches him.

"From this day onward, you will be called Grem Marx. Try not to die too quickly okay?" said the elder as he moves to the next infant

With no other means of gathering information, Jonathan Doe/ Grem Marx performed the only action that his body can do... Cry in despair and sleep like a rock.

-:-

**Day 2**

Marx (short for Grem Marx) cant help but think that the world is both amazing and terrifying.

In just one night, his infantile body suddenly grew into the standard size of a gremlin which is about the same as a 5 year old human child. But more importantly, HE CAN MOVE!

Yesterday, he feared that he might be stuck as an immovable infant for how many years to come. The fact that his greatest concern was solved after a good nights rest was a huge weight off his shoulders.

Marx assumed that gremlins are closer to animals than humans. With an ever present threat on their life, gremlins are forced to grow faster in order to survive. Well, that doesnt really matter at the moment.

In celebration, he ran, jumped, punched, kicked, rolled, summersaulted like no tomorrow which earned quite a few glares from his equally ugly brothers and sisters. But right now, Marx really didnt give a damn.

While basking in the glory of regaining his mobility, Marx accidentally slams into a wall like an insect into a windshield. Suddenly, a window akin to that of the standard Elder Tale Character Info popped out of in front of him.

The first thing he notices is that his status page is nearly blank except for his Race (which is Gremlin) and his Level (which is LVL: 1). He doesnt even have HP or MP.

In his equipment page, his only item is **Makeshift Underwear **which seems to pertain to the ragged piece of cloth tied to his waist.

And lastly is his skill page, which only contains 1 skill.

**Devourer**: Gains skills from eating q corpse that have been dead for a maximum of 24 hours. If the enemy is stronger than the user, the user will gain more skills. The user is also immune to any poison, sickness or curse that can be gained from eating contaminated flesh.

That piqued Marx's interest.

Obviously, he needs to level up in order to get stronger. However, it seems that the only way for him to get more skills is to eat other creatures.

"_Well... I am a bit hungry..."_

It didnt take him long to conclude that he has to go out of the cave and start hunting.

Before he could make his first steps out the cave, the old gremlin (which was named Grem Geezer) calls him out and asks if he was interested in learning about the dangers of the outside world.

Seeing how Marx know next to nothing about his circumstances, and considering that Geezer is the unofficial leader of this cave, a little know how can save him a lot of facepalms. He decided to squeeze whatever knowledge the old gremlin has

Surprisingly, Geezer was quite happy at Marx's thirst for knowledge. Apparently, most gremlins dont really value his warnings and ends up dead in a matter of minutes.

Seeing how Marx belongs to one of the weakest monster race in Elder Tale, he decided to take Geezer's words seriously.

**First rule of the world:** Death is not the end, but avoid it at all costs

Upon dying, a monster resurrects on a certain place at a certain time. Unfortunately, the monster's body resurrects faster than the monster's psyche, causing the body to act like a brainless idiot and wander around it's resurrection point. If the body dies before the psyche can recover, the time of the psyche's reintegration to the body is extended equal to the number of times the body died.

During this period, a monster cannot level up because the psyche is where experiences are recorded. This is the reason why a vast majority of monsters that wander in a designated area remains the same level all through out their existence.

At an average, the psyche recovers one week per death, which unfortunately, gives the body a lot of chances to die again. This often result the monster being trapped in idiot mode for the rest of its existence.

"_Oh... So that's why monsters act like badly planned AIs... Makes sense"_

**Second rule of the world:** The prize of not dying is great

If a monster continues to gain experience and level up, there is a chance that it can undergo **Evolution**, which results in the monster to be reborn into a more powerful race.

Gremlins, which is categorized as a Demi-Human, often evolve into Orcs. However, the evolution after that is dependent on the monster itself. For example, Orcs that prefers fighting physically may end up evolving into a Troll. There are many unknown factors to Evolution, thus no one is sure to which race they are going to evolve into.

Geezer strongly emphasized that Evolution is what all gremlins should aim for because a LVL 100 Gremlin is no match for a LVL 1 Orc. If he gets lucky, he might end up becoming a raid boss someday

At the very least, Marx has a goal that he can work for. Sure is hell better than drowning in despair.

**Third rule of the world: **Avoid Adventurers at all costs

Adventurers are extremely powerful, intelligent and resourceful beings with the ability to revive after death. While they level up slowly and are incapable of Evolution, Adventurers have many skills and equipment that gives them an overwhelming advantage.

In the case of gremlins, 1 low level Adventurer can slaughter at least a hundred gremlins before moving on to the next zone. The main reason why those monsters who have died once almost never recover their psyche is because Adventurers repeatedly kills them whenever they respawn.

Quite ironic really, considering that Marx was one of those Adventurers at one point.

After giving Marx the basics of the world, Geezer insisted that the young gremlin to stay within the cave for today. Seeing how Marx is actually capable of using his brain (something that many gremlins seem to be incapable of doing), Geezer suggested that he plan ahead.

Belonging to the weakest race means that nearly everything outside the cave can kill Marx in one go.

Convinced by Geezer's words, Marx made do with the mushrooms on the wall for food.

It's not much but it is better than nothing.

-:-

**Day 3**

No matter how much Marx applied his wisdom in games and IRL into his current situation, the only solution he could think off is to team up with someone else.

Like the good old words of wisdom once said: "Safety in numbers"

With that in mind, Marx spent the first few hours of the new day trying to recruit some hapless pawns... er... helpful comrades. Unfortunately, his overly erratic happiness the previous day made him look like someone with a few screws loose. Nearly everyone he talked to declined out of fear that he'll get them killed.

And gremlins were suppose to be idiots... Truly a miscalculation in Marx's part.

Out of desperation, he decided to approach female gremlins for help.

Mind you, its not like he is sexist or anything, but based on physical appearance alone, male gremlins are fairly muscular compared to females. This trait is ideal for meat shields...er... frontline combatants.

Another trait Marx wanted to abuse was the fact that males vastly outnumbered females. This way, he can allow himself a margin of error in commanding these idiots. Unfortunately, out of the 50 gremlins in this cave, there are only 8 females, thus Marx is not allowed to make any mistakes.

Besides, his upbringing in IRL has drilled the notion that females must be treated with care and respect. It hurts his conscience when women get hurt because of him.

With that in mind he approached a female gremlin that was separated from the rest.

Upon gazing at the female's face, Marx understood how cruel the world is to the male monster population.

Unlike the usual male which was bald with wrinkly green skin, sharp nose and ears, females actually looked presentable. Mind you, they are still ugly, but they looked loads better than the males.

The female that Marx talked to, named Grem Riz, had messy shoulder length light red hair. Unlike the standard male appearance, her skin is smooth and her nose is more akin to a human.

It is quite unfair if Marx say so himself.

Anyway, Marx tried his best to convince Riz to aid him.

Aside from telling him her name, Riz didnt really like to talk much. For most of the time, she simply listened to Marx's piece while nodding her head in occasion. Eventually she agreed to become Marx's lackey for the time being.

Unfortunately, Marx wasnt lucky with the other females. Apparently, Riz was considered a weirdo by everyone else, similar to how they viewed Marx.

It is just like what Marx's IRL grandmother used to say about dealing with other people: "You cant win em all... So make sure you do so good that they'll have no choice but to grovel at your feet!"

... Grandma did have a bit of a sadistic streak...

After a few minutes later, Marx and Riz took their first few steps outside the cave.

The environment is a very thick forest. Since the terrain was unfamiliar to Marx, he assumed that it is one of the new maps in the Novasphere Pioneers expansion. He was sad that he had to explore the new map in such a state, but decided push his worries aside. He has more important things to do.

It didnt take them too long to encounter their very first prey, a thing called **Rhino Boar**. As the name states, it is a wild boar with a very scary horn on top of its nose.

It looks like Geezer wasnt lying. While the Rhino Boar is about half the size of a regular gremlin, it really looked like it could kill a gremlin in one go.

For now, Marx decided to observe the boar in order to gather information about it. After a few moments, he gave Riz some instructions then proceeded to make their move.

Riz went out of cover and used a stone to grab the Rhino Boar's attention. The boar charged with every intention of impaling the red haired gremlin.

However, before it could reach Riz, Marx jumped from one of the nearby trees and shoved a sharp tree branch that they picked up earlier into its side.

While everything went according to plan, Marx underestimated how tough the Rhino Boar's was. The branch did enter the body but it wasnt enough to perform a lethal blow.

Marx quickly commanded Riz to hit the boar with something before it could recover from shock.

At that point, Marx discovered how unfair his assessment of the female gremlins was.

Copying Marx, Riz picked up a nearby branch and smashed it into the side of the Rhino Boar's face. Surprisingly, the force she used was so great that it snapped the Rhino Boar's neck in the process... And she did it without changing her ever emotionless face!

Quite a scary young gremlin.

Marx showered her with praise yet Riz didnt even bat an eyelash. He did notice a bit of blushing on her green cheeks. As long as she's happy, that's good.

Another thing Marx noticed about his silent companion is that she automatically assumed that she is below Marx in the hierarchy of their partnership. Despite the loud complaints of her empty stomach, she did not make a move on the feast that is in front of her.

That's good actually. Marx was a bit uneasy of the possibility that he had to punish her until she followed his orders. While he might enjoy playing a sadist, he would prefer not to awaken his inner S for now.

Anyway, he tried his best to skin the boar, then ripped the meat into smaller parts and gave half of it to Riz. They then proceeded to eat the meat with gusto.

Compared to the mushrooms in the cave, fresh meat tasted like heaven.

Suddenly, a window appeared in front of his eyes.

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Physical Damage Resistance**

Oh... So that's what the **Devourer** skill has to offer.

It seems that Marx has inherited the Rhino Boar's toughness. It would be very useful in the long run.

After that, Marx and Riz hunted and ate 2 more Rhino Boars before returning to the cave.

A full tummy, a few loots that he might be able to use and a new skill. Marx marks this day as a very productive one.

-:-

**Day 4**

Once again, the Marx and Riz pair went out to hunt for food, much to the surprise of the rest of the other gremlins.

Oh, just an update: out of the 13 brave gremlins that ventured out of the cave yesterday, about 11 never returned.

Geezer said that they most likely died while trying to hunt for food. While the ancient gremlin wasnt sure where they respawned, he was fairly certain that we may never see them again. If those who died are lucky, they wont die again for a week and recover their psyche... However such a thing is unlikely, seeing how gremlins normally sits at the bottom of the food chain.

Geezer wasnt really sad about it. Such a thing was expected when headstrong gremlins ignored his warnings.

He then started bragging about Grem Marx who took the time and listened to his words. Thanks to that, Marx was able to survive in the harsh outside world.

Mind you, aside from the basic rules of the world, Geezer didnt really teach Marx anything useful. However, Marx decided to let the old man have his limelight, seeing how Geezer's knowledge did help him understand the way the world works.

Who knows, he might actually impart some knowledge to the young gremlins that will help them survive. This actually works in Marx's favor as he eventually plans to subjugate the other gremlins into his rule.

Of course, he prefers if it can be done in a peaceful manner. It is too tiresome to fight all of them one by one until no one dares to challenge his command.

Besides, while Geezer already told Marx about it a few days ago, it was only now that the fact sets in... Gremlins are really idiots.

If they died from fighting a Rhino Boar, then they obviously did not recognize that it was dangerous enough to kill them.

To recognize a threat and understand how much of a threat is it is the very basics of survival in the harsh world. After all, when one knows the enemy, one can then develop tactics in order to fight and win in the most efficient manner.

Either way, Marx knows without a doubt that he needs everyone in this cave to get stronger so that he can survive in this world.

With that thought in mind, he once again led the red haired Riz in hunting for food.

On that day, the 2 hunted about 7 Rhino Boars. More than double than what they got yesterday. Thanks to that, he was able to gain pretty much every ability the Rhino Boar has to offer.

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Melee Damage**

**New Skill Acquired: Smell Identification**

**New Skill Acquired: Increase HP Regeneration**

At the same time, Marx made sure to gather up materials that could be used for crafting.

He would really like to replace this loincloth of his.

-:-

**Day 5**

Before the duo could leave the cave, a male gremlin named Grem Dor prostrated before Marx. Dor begged for forgiveness for rejecting Marx's invitation and asked if he could be Marx's apprentice.

While this action really boosted Marx's sadistic ego, he wasnt cruel enough to turn away the poor guy. After all, Marx needs all the help he can get.

Oh, by the way, Grem Dor is an anomaly among the gremlins of this generation. Unlike normal male gremlins, Dor sports a short light brown hair, smooth skin and human-like nose.

He has a reserved and gentle demeanor unbefitting his race. Because of this demeanor, Dor was easily influenced by the other gremlins to reject Marx's invitation.

Yes... These traits is normally associated with the females.

Truth be told, Marx initially counted Dor as one of the females, which means that the true number of females in the cave is actually 7 instead of 8.

... Well, there are bound to be traps sooner or later...

Either way, Marx gladly accepted Dor into his group.

After hunting 2 Rhino Boars, Marx understood his companions well enough to formulate a crude fighting formation.

Ironically, their front liner is Riz, the only female of the group. She has proven many times that she is the physically strongest and toughest among the 3 of them. While Marx cant tell if she is stupid or simply single minded, Riz seems to be inflexible to the point that her only known tactic is to hit her opponent with all of her might.

With a large two handed club in her hands, Riz takes the vanguard position and charges straight to the enemy.

Dor, on the other hand, is the opposite of Riz. While he isnt exactly fast nor strong, he has proven that his aim is top notch. With that in mind, Dor acts as their long range unit and keeps the enemy unbalanced with his support fire.

As of the moment, Dor uses small rocks and sharp branches for ammunition, but Marx plans on changing it once he has the time.

As for Marx himself, he took the midrange harasser similar to his position when Elder Tale was still a game.

Back then, he used a **Swashbuckler **class character and proceeded to perform hit and run tactics to pummel the enemy when they least expected it. The biggest advantage of the Swashbuckler class is that it is extremely flexible, allowing him to switch from damager to harasser to kiter in a moments notice.

Naturally, the main reason why he chose the Swashbuckler is because it can equip 2 one hand swords, which is cool.

With a long sharp tree branch as a spear, Marx strikes at the enemy's weak points in order to bring them down as quickly as possible. At the same time, he acts as a support if either of the 2 is in trouble.

Thanks to Dor's addition to the group, they were able to take down 2 monsters that Marx and Riz originally avoided.

First is the creature named the **Plague Raven**. As the name states, it is a raven that is naturally coated with dieses and poison. Seeing how it is capable of flight, Marx and Riz were ill equipped to take it down. Only with Dor's long range surprise attacks were they able to successfully slay it.

However, due to its vomit inducing stench, Riz and Dor refused to even try and take a bite out of even insisted to Marx that he should avoid it entirely.

Truth be told, Marx agrees with them, but for the sake of increasing his skill repertoire, he decides to be a man and shove it down his throat.

Surprisingly, it actually tastes good if you can get passed the stench.

**New Skill Acquired: Plague Venom Coating**

He was hoping to get something like this from the Plague Raven. While he isnt sure how poison works in this world, IRL poison has been used since the ancient times in order to bring down large pray using minimal effort.

As he expects to fight stronger enemies, Marx decided that the earlier he gets this sort of skill, the better.

The next monster, named as **Blade Shrew,** was a tough one. Ever seen Sandslash from Pokemon? It looked exactly like that.

It kept performing the annoying action of curling up into a ball of spikes as it hurled itself into the enemy. The trio had to retreat a few times to reassess their strategy against it.

Hilariously, they took it down in a very unorthodox manner. Instead of beating it down to death (which was impossible in their current state), Marx abused the fact that the Blade Shrew loved that cannon ball maneuver of his.

Since it couldnt see while it was curled up into a ball, they lured it into decent size river nearby and drowned it. Fortunately, it was heavy enough to prevent it from floating or being swept away by the current.

They then painstakingly pulled it out of the water using some very strong vines that grew in the forest.

After that, Marx carefully removed the armored spikes on the Blade Shrew's back by hacking through the skin beneath it. Since he didnt have the proper tools for the job, he had to do it carefully.

Due to the slow process, Riz and Dor had to endure a fairly long wait.

Dor meekly complained. It only took one glare from Marx to shut him up.

Riz, on the other hand, didnt utter a single word. But the loud grumbling of her stomach was more annoying than any form of complaint.

Well, its not like he enjoys making them wait, but the armored scale is an indispensable piece of crafting material that will save their lives in the future.

And besides, Marx is hungry as hell too!

Eventually, he finished his labor and distributed the meat equally among themselves.

**New Skill Acquired: Spike Carapace - **ability to grow an armor of spikes that hurts any opponent that attacks the user.

**New Skill Acquired: Threat Detection-** a passive skill that automatically detects anyone that desires harm to the user

**New Skill Acquired: Intimidating Roar- **lets lose an earsplitting howl that temporarily paralyzes the opponents with fear.

**New Skill Acquired: Detect Living- **scans the area for living things

**New Skill Acquired: Whirlwind- **spins like a tornado and damages everything caught in its wake.

Will you look at that!

It seems that the Blade Shrew was a foe that vastly outstrips Marx's currently capabilities. Because of that, he gained a fair number of skills on top of high quality crafting tools.

It goes without saying that Marx is extremely pleased with their accomplishment.

In particular, he was pleased with the Whirlwind skill. It really gave him a bit of nostalgia during his youth when he played Diablo 1, 2 and 3. Barbarians are awesome.

After that, they hunted 4 more Rhino Boars before going home.

Truly it was a day filled with progress.

-:-

**Day 6**

The weather is bad today. Outside the cave was a heavy downpour of rain which is unideal for any form of hunting.

Based on Geezer's understanding, there is a powerful storm in the area which could last a day or two. Better hunker down and wait it out.

While Marx wasnt sure if a gremlin could catch hypothermia from being exposed to the rain for extended periods of time, he had no intention of testing it out.

Why would he waste a day being sick while he had so much to do?

Since they couldnt hunt in such horrible weather, Marx decided to make use of their large stockpile of loot and start crafting.

First up, Marx wanted to address the annoyance he experienced yesterday. Without the proper tools, even the most basic action such as skinning an animal can become a real headache.

At this point, Marx showcases his knowledge that he has learned from watching movies, reading wikipedia and playing computer games.

While he wasnt sure what the title of the movie was, it stared Tommy Lee Jones who was some sort of trainer for military assassins. Ignoring the plot, Marx could remember that Tommy Lee Jones made a dagger out of stones that was picked up from a river.

With that in mind, Marx took the stones he gathered yesterday and slowly chipped them until the edges were sharp enough. As for the handle of the daggers, he wrapped it with the vines that they used to pull out the Blade Shrew out of the water.

He repeated this process until he produced 5 daggers. 3 for him since he will be using it for skinning, one for each of his subordinates.

Naturally, the noise he made attracted the attention of others. For a moment, the others gathered around him out of curiosity but soon dispersed out of boredom.

It was tiresome work but someone has to do it.

Marx also noticed that Geezer was looking at him with a smile. From the look of it, it seems that those who actually use their brains are extremely rare in gremlin society.

He decided to take a break after experiencing a bit of pain in his arms.

Along with Riz and Dor, they ate what little they could find in the cave. It was mostly insects and mushrooms which didnt really fill their stomachs, but it was all they had for now.

After that, Marx decided to teach Riz and Dor how to craft armor in order to reduce his work load.

Fortunately Dor seemed to have a knack for this sort of thing. His needle work was so impressive that even Marx had to ask for some pointers.

On the other hand, Riz had the dexterity and precision of a thermonuclear bomb. Her clumsiness was so apparent that he decided that she should sit this one out.

Despite not showing any emotion, Riz was clearly angry for being left out.

Marx tried to explain that everyone has different areas that they are good at, it just so happens that crafting was not Riz's strong point.

Obviously, this wasnt enough to calm the the sulky Riz.

In order to alleviate her anger, Marx and Dor focused on making Riz's equipment.

The end result was a intimidating round shield with spikes used from the Blade Shrew, thick leather armor from the hide of the Rhino Boar and an upgraded spike club using the horn of the Rhino Boar.

After being presented with her new equipment, Riz was emotionlessly happy. She spent a good amount of time looking and feeling her new equipment.

Well... As long as she's happy...

They decided to call it a day and went to bed

-:-

**Day 7**

Just like Geezer, the rain continued on through the next day. While it did weaken a fair bit, it's still in an intensity that can greatly hinder the groups progress.

With that in mind, Marx and Dor proceeded with their crafting.

Marx cant help but be happy with the feminine male gremlin. When it comes to crafting in general, the guy has the skill of a master artisan. Thanks to that, the 2 of them had a lot of beneficial discussion in relations to defense-to-weight ratio, how much armor are they willing to sacrifice for flexibility, consideration of the user's fighting style, and so on.

Dor was truly an unexpected diamond among the gremlin rabble.

On the other hand, Riz was doing what she does best in this types of situation: absolutely nothing.

For now, she sat silently beside Marx and observed their work. Wether she understands what they are doing or not is a mystery.

Anyway, the duo carefully produced a few apparels that allowed them to graduate from their dirty rags.

For Dor, a pair of shorts and leather armor made from the hide of the Rhino Boars. They were also able to make a weapon known as a **Shepherd Sling** using the strong yet flexible vines they found in the forest and a bit of Rhino Boar hide.

FYI: A Shepherd Sling is the weapon used by David to kill Goliath

As for Marx, his armor is similar to Dor's in order to maximize his movement. For his weapon, he made a saw-like short sword using a decently thick tree branch and the remaining spikes from the Blade Shrew's back.

Unfortunately, Marx soon discovered that wielding 2 swords at the same time required tremendous amounts of skill and dexterity, something of which he did not have. Apparently, his gremlin character was not blessed with such a proficiency.

Reluctant as he might be that he cant become a Swashbuckler once again, he decided to use the skull of a Rhino Boar as a makeshift small shield.

"Better not force to do what you cant do" was the words of Marx's boss IRL.

In his current world of constant life and death struggles, his boss's words ring true.

By the way, while they were working, he noticed that he was at the receiving end of a fair bit of glares. At first he thought it was just his imagination, but after sneaking glances around him, he noticed that the male population has been throwing him glares of envy.

Unsure of what it ment, he asked Dor for his thoughts on the matter. The reply he received was quite a shocker.

Based on Dor's words, Riz was an extremely beautiful female by gremlin standards. The fact that she followed Marx unquestioningly ment that he was to woo the best girl.

"Are you shitting me?!" Marx couldnt help but reply

To him, every last one of them (him included) had a face not even a mother could love.

While he wondered what the criteria for beauty is within the world of monsters, another question pops into his mind.

If they thought that she was that beautiful, why didnt they ask for her cooperation first?

Dor reminds Marx that Riz was considered a weirdo since the beginning.

Indeed, she received many invitations at day 2, but she did nothing but stared and listened. Mistaking it as a sign of pressuring them, all of them caved in and retreated.

Marx could actually relate to that. When he tried to convince Riz to join him, that steady silent gaze did make him falter a few times. However, he was already backed into a corner at that point so he kept pushing until either Riz accepted or flat out rejected him.

Looks like he was truly lucky to not only recruit a powerful front liner, but also a high class beauty (which he simply could not appreciate.)

Suddenly, another question popped into his mind.

By gremlin standards, how does Marx fare in the looks department?

Dor blushes and fidgets uncomfortably before replying that Marx is quite charming.

"_Dude... Why are you blushing?"_

-:-

**Day 8**

By morning, there was no longer any sign of the storm that raged for 2 days straight, thus their hunting can resume in earnest.

Thank God for that. Marx wasnt sure how long they could survive on mushrooms alone.

Thanks to their newly upgraded equipment, the Blade Shrew that gave them such a hard time 2 days ago can now be taken down with relative ease.

The strategy was simple.

First Dor would use a rock that was infused with Marx's poison and snipe the Blade Shrew's eye. Thanks to the shepherds sling, Dor could hurl the rock at fairly long distances, thus insuring that his first shot would always land at a critical body part.

Marx and Riz then charges at the enemy and forced it to move which allowed the poison the spread faster. In about a minute or so, the Blade Shrew collapsed, leaving it open for the 2 to beat it to death.

This strategy allowed them to hunt a staggering 13 Blade Shrews in a span of a few hours. Not only was their belly full, they also got more crafting materials than they know what to do with it.

As for Marx, he stopped learning any skills from them after eating the 3rd Blade Shrew.

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Leg Power**

**New Skill Acquired: Heightened Reaction Time**

While heightened reaction time is self explanatory, it is one hell of a skill. Anyone who has watched Sword Art Online and Accel World knows the value of this skill.

Marx might don a jet black overcoat and seduce practically every women he meets. He is already trapped in an MMORPG, so who knows what the future might bring?

Increase leg power was also a very good find. This skill allowed him to run faster and jump higher.

That may not look like much, but striking first and moving away before they could counter attack is the nuts and bolts of guerrilla warfare. This will definitely come in handy in the future.

With too much meat and crafting ingredients to carry with them, the trio decided to head back to the cave and deposit their spoils there before heading out again.

While in transit, Marx's **Threat Detection **pinpointed about 8 hostiles hidden within the bushes and trees. His **Smell Identification** allowed him to recognize that their would be attackers were all sibling gremlins from the cave.

He stealthily gave his comrades a few hand signs of their situation and commanded them to ready themselves.

Marx and Riz moved a few meters forward, their ambushers sprang their trap.

A big mistake.

First and foremost, the trio's gear quality vastly outstrips their ambushers whom was only carrying clubs.

Second and most importantly, the trio was considerably stronger due to overcoming many opponents that were stronger than them.

The outcome of their engagement was obvious: a one sided slaughter.

Riz smashed her spike shield into an incoming gremlin and turned it into swizz cheese.

Dor pinned the other 2 that tried to surround Riz by crippling their legs with precise shots. Before the downed gremlins could recover, Riz followed through by bashing their skulls in.

Not a pretty sight.

On the other hand, Marx made short work of his opponents.

He used **Whirlwind** to cleave through 4 gremlins in one violent go. It was so easy that it was boring.

The last gremlin fell flat on his butt out of fear. A natural reaction, considering that their numerically superior group was eradicated so easily.

Marx approached the terrified gremlin and gave him a choice.

They could do this the easy way... or the **fun** way (well, at least it would be fun for Marx)

Fortunately, the terrified gremlin decided to do it the easy way and began to sing.

Apparently, nearly everyone in the cave is in a horrible state due to lack of food. They were either too weak or too stupid to even kill a Rhino Boar, thus they were forced to stay within the confines of the cave and made do with the mushrooms that grew on the walls.

Naturally, the mushrooms became increasingly scarce due to having too much mouths to feed.

As to why Marx group was attacked, the entire gremlin community actually viewed him as an arrogant prick. Not only does he flaunt the fact that he has the most beautiful female under his thumb, but he also shows off that he has been eating like a king

FYI: Riz blushed profusely at these words, but Marx decided to ignore it.

He was wondering why she became so attached to him so fast. They've only know each other for a good 5 days. That is obviously not enough time to develop feelings. This isnt an anime/eroge you know?

But then again, a gremlins life is quite merciless where one can die only after a day or two after birth. In such an environment, the emotions induced by adrenaline can often be mistaken as love, so it shouldnt be no surprise that even the ever emotionless Riz has started to think of Marx as someone who was more than a comrade.

Marx has seen this many times IRL at _work_.

Got a bit sidetracked there. Back to the matter at hand.

With confidence in their numbers, the gremlins decided to attack the trio and force them to hunt for them. While the plan was not that bad if Marx say so himself, the gremlins obviously did not do their homework on how strong the trio has become.

Information is power and gremlins obviously didnt understand that.

Marx thought for a bit, then came to the conclusion that he could fast track his way up the gremlin hierarchy if he plays his cards right.

The trio + one prisoner went back to the cave.

Seeing how they had brought a large quantity of Blade Shrew meat, the gremlins in the cave assumed that the ambush was a success.

Marx quickly proved them wrong by giving a gremlin, who jumped at the sight of the meat, a very tasty knuckle sandwich.

With weapons drawn, Marx cruelly announced that he will not give anyone anything unless they have something of value that they can trade.

As expected, the rest of the gremlins cower in fear.

Surprisingly, Geezer did not intervene on the matter. In fact, he looked very pleased at Marx's action.

Marx was relieved actually. He didnt want to kill off his only source of information on this world

After a few moments of tense silence, Marx decided to play his aces.

"If you promise to follow my every command, I will not only give you these food, I will also give you the knowledge and strength to hunt on your own!"

It didnt take long for the gremlin community to fold into his demands. Hunger has amazing ways of influencing people.

As promised, he gave them all of the meat. He was too full to eat anymore anyway.

After the gremlins ate and recover their strength, Marx decided to turn them into not only competent hunter, but also soldiers that will do his every bidding.

With that in mind, there was only one thing to do.

Marx will make them undergo military training for this point onward.

For the rest of the day, Marx beat the basics into their skin and bones until everyone (including Riz and Dor) was too tired to move.

He also made sure to instill in their minds that he is their superior and his will overrides theirs.

Satisfied with his progress, Marx decided to hit the hay

-:-

**Day 9**

Marx spent the first few hours of the morning training his gremlin brethren. To start off, what he made them do were simple endurance building exercises followed by teaching them basic group strategies on how to take down a Rhino Boar.

He then dismissed them and went hunting with Riz and Dor.

Marx was fortunate this time around.

The first pray of the day are 4 Plague Ravens which they havent seen in a while. Maybe this forest isnt their natural habitat? Marx isnt too sure, but that would explain why there are barely any of them present.

As per usual, he endures their putrid stench and ate them with gusto, much to the discomfort of his companions.

**New Skill Acquired: Poison Resistance**

Seeing how he needs to eat 4 Plague Ravens to get a single skill, it must mean that the Ravens are much weaker than him.

Moving on, they hunted 2 Rhino Boars which Marx gave all his share to Riz and Dor because they couldnt eat the Plague Ravens.

The last prey of the day was something that nearly got them killed.

It all started just before they began their treck home when Dor discovered a cave about 1 hours from the gremlin home base. They decided to explore just for the heck of it... A big mistake

Thanks to Marx **Detect Living **and **Threat Detection **skills they soon realize that they just walked into an entrance of a **Black Ant **nest

A Black Ant is about the 1/8 of a gremlin's height and it doesnt posses much offensive strength, so it wasnt much of a threat. The problem is they swarm like an avalanche and bury their enemy in massive waves of fangs and claws.

The trio retreated post haste as 30 Black Ants were hot on their trail.

Marx used a strategy that abused the small space of the cave to their advantage. With Riz and Marx as the front line and Dor hanging a fair ways back as fire support, they made a slow retreat while killing every Black Ant that came their way.

Marx used **Intimidating Roar** to stop the Black Ant's movement then followed by **Whirlwind** in order to reduce their numbers as quickly as possible. He also coated his saw sword with lethal amounts of poison so that even if the enemy is lightly injured, it will not escape death.

While the opponent was still paralyzed, Riz went into a frenzy and bashed everything within reach.

Dor focused on eliminating the enemies behind the front lines while they were immobile. But when the paralysis wore off, he was to make sure that Riz, the slowest of the 3, was not to be surrounded by the enemy. He did his job exceedingly well if Marx says so himself.

Unfortunately for them, a larger Black Ant named a **Queen Black Ant** (it was about the same size as a gremlin) arrived with 10 more regular Black Ants in tow.

Marx was suddenly reminded of a thing that he wondered while playing the Fall Out New Vegas game. In the game, the weakness of the giant mutated ants was to shoot off their antenna in order for them to go in a frenzy and attack anyone within reach... Including their comrades.

Unsure if it applies here, he commanded Dor to aim for the Queen's Antennas.

While the effects wasnt exactly as Marx expected, it was definitely a life saver.

Upon losing its antenna, the queen thrashed a bit and charged straight at the trio with reckless abadon, accidentally killing a quite a few of its minions in the process. The minions themselves suddenly stopped moving as if they were remote control cars that had their batteries drained.

Riz stood bravely in front of the Queen and used her spike shield to stop the it on its tracks.

Dor aimed for the legs in order to limit its ability to move.

Marx jumped on the Queen's head and hacked it again and again and again until it stopped twitching.

After the Queen's demise, the unmoving Black Ants were easy prey.

Marx was pretty sure that this isnt how it works IRL but he was thankful that the situation ended that way. It was a tough and nerve wrecking battle but they won in the end. Their reward for such a feat was an all you can eat ant buffet.

Naturally, Marx got the Queen all for himself.

Surprisingly it tasted like chicken... How weird...

The skills he learned from eating 10 regular Black Ants were as follows:

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Physical Strength**

**New Skill Acquired: Automatic Terrain Mapping**

**New Skill Acquired: Will of the Legion**

The first skills seems to be self explanatory. Considering that ants have been known to lift objects many times their size and weight, this skill isnt much of a surprise.

The second is pretty much a auto map sketching ability that is saved directly to Marx's brain. A mini map if you will.

On the other hand, the third seems to be out of the ordinary. If a number of people belongs to the same group, the Will of the Legion will allow those people to instinctively know what the others want to do, thus allowing them to perform more efficiently with less verbal communication.

It seems to be similar to the concept of a hive mind, and is very useful in group combat.

Satisfied with his new abilities, Marx proceeds to feast on the Queen

**New Skill Acquired: Will of the Ruler**

**New Skill Acquired: Imperial Right**

**New Skill Acquired: Blessing of the Earth**

Another set of intriguing skills befitting their toughest opponent to date.

Will of the Ruler seems to work in tandem with Will of the Legion. This skill allows the user to impose his/her own will over the legion, thus acting like their ruler.

Well, Marx was planning to rule over his gremlin brethren sooner or later. This skill makes it easier for him to do so.

The second skill seems to be passive proficiency type. It seems that the user has been blessed by God to receive the absurdities that nobility from the old world enjoys. Example of this collection of taxes, mount riding, swordsmanship, fine arts, military tactics, etc.

It is, without a doubt, a very useful skill and it will help him greatly in the future, though he dislikes it a little. This is purely a personal bias, but IRL, Marx/Jonathan Doe has developed a fair bit of dislike for the rich and pompous brats that he was forced to get acquainted with due to his _work._

Well, either way, he'll take what he can get.

The last skill, unfortunately, is a little bit annoying. Blessing of the Earth's description simply says that Marx has been blessed by the Earth Mother... That's it...

It is so vague that it gives him barely any context to reverse engineer its meaning.

The earth element in most mythos is normally associated with fertility, prosperity and life, but that doesnt mean that this skill pertains to it.

It's a bit annoying but he decided to leave it be for now.

After gathering what little they can from the Black Ants, they left the cave and called it a day.

-:-

**Day 10**

Marx cant help but be amazed at the gremlins absurd rate of growth.

Only 2 days ago, they were starving to death. Yet yesterday, after a few measly hours of training, they successfully hunted Rhino Bears with ease and efficiency.

As expected of the bottom feeders. Better learn fast or die even faster.

Once again, they spent a few hours in the morning for training, then they went their separate ways and began hunting.

Today was nothing special really. They hunted about 8 Blade Shrews and 14 Rhino Boars before they decided to head back due to excess luggage.

They did find a new prey, though it wasnt really that strong. It was called a **Red Bunny**, and as the name states, it is a bunny rabbit that has red fur. They had a bit of a hard time trying to kill it due to its high instincts and annoyingly nimble body.

Eventually they figured out how to best it and successfully ate about 7 of them.

As expected of a weaker prey, Marx only received one skill after eating 3 of it.

**New Skill Acquired: Horny Bunny-** the possessor of this skill now has unmatched endurance in bed

... Someone in Artharva Inc (makers of Elder Tale) must have hired a nut job and a pervert ...

Suddenly a thought hit him.

If he started out as a baby, does that mean that he has a mother?

If that is the case, then would that mean that there is a small chance that Marx can make use of the **Horny Bunny **skill?

... Fufufufufufu...

After deluding himself for a few moments, the group returned home earlier than usual.

Marx and Dor then spent the rest of their day crafting. They already have too much raw materials in stock so it might be better if they practiced their needle work.

As usual, Riz silently sat by Marx side. He has gotten used to it so he didnt mind.

He then checked on the other groups and was pleased with their performance. He promised them that if they gather materials for him, he'll craft them weapons and armor. That should give them some incentive to try harder.

He then turned in for the night after a boring yet productive day.

**Level 100 has been reached**

_**Unknown Special Requirement**_**has been satisfied**

**You are now allowed to Evolve into ****Orc: Genius Monster Variant**

**Would you like to proceed with your Evolution?**

"_Yes... Let me sleep already..."_

**Grem Marx Race: White Orc Variant**

**New Skill Acquired: Seed of the Demon King Asmodeus**

-:-

**Author's Notes**

I dont like making authors notes so dont expect to see another one anytime soon.

I'll just outline some important stuff.

- This work has been greatly inspired from the manwha (?) The Gamer, the light novel RE: Monster and Log Horizon itself.

- **Genius Monsters** exist in the Log Horizon mythos and is considered the main antagonists of the series. Visit the Wikia for more info

- This work follows the Light Novel version of Log Horizon . This means it is much more brutal than depicted in the anime.

- This work also serves as an experiment on a different writing style. Normally, I prefer to put large amounts of detail in my works, but after reading RE: Monster, I decided to try out the same writing style. As you might have noticed, it does not really greatly on dialogues to move the story along. I'd like some feedback if this style is entertaining enough


	2. Chapter 2

**Day 11**

Marx has already known this for a while now, but this world is seriously amazing/scary.

Yesterday, he was the size of a 5 year old kid with green skin... But now... Well, let's just say that Charles Darwin (the guy that coined the Evolution Theory) would be rolling in his grave if he knew about this world's Evolution.

Marx could vaguely recall a window popping out while he was half asleep. It was something about reaching the required level and satisfying certain conditions and stuff.

Whatever he did during his drowsiness resulted in a massive change in his body structure.

First up, he grew from a kid to someone who is in his late teens in one freaking night!

Naturally, he experienced the disorientation that came with this sudden growth, yet he didnt feel a speck of pain. THAT is unnatural.

Normally when you shove something up your body that was originally not there, your skin stretches and rips. This goes the same to the muscles as well.

How mysterious...

Next drastic change was his skin color. From green it suddenly turned into white. And not the white that's normally found on Elves, but pale, disturbing, ghostlike white.

He understands the allure of this type of skin color in anime girls, but such a thing does not apply to men.

How creepy...

Last but not the least, he has HAIR!

His hair is black and is styled into a short crew cut. It's exactly the same as his IRL hair that he has maintained for many years.

Atleast he no longer looks like something that went through a failed face lift operation. Sure, he looks like something that walked out of a freezer, but its a big improvement

How awesome!

It took him about 5 minutes of freaking out until he could get a grip. While the current situation calls for more than just 5 minutes of freaking out, Marx concluded that the best course of action is to ask Geezer for information.

Naturaly, the old gremlin nearly had a heart attack at the sight of Marx... Of course the statement was ment as a figure of speech, not literally.

Marx then listened to Geezer's words with great interest.

As the old gremlin explained a few days ago, all monsters undergoes Evolution as a means of getting stronger. However, evolution is not a straight line, but a tree that branches out from one point of origin. In order to proceed to these branches, certain requirements must be met.

The main problem is that the requirements are largely unknown and very random. Since the combination of requirements are near infinite, no one bothered keeping track of it anymore.

The best example for this is Marx who evolved into a **White Orc.**

Standard Orcs normally have grayish skin which, based on American Sever Elder Tale Lore, was once Elves who were turned into evil beasts when the Six Scrapped Princesses of the Alvs summoned the Demi-Humans into the world. You could say that Orcs are Dark Elves.

**Variants** on the other hand are said to be demi-humans with more demon blood in their veins than their regular brethren, thus are normally superior in some way. Naturally, the requirement to evolve into a Variant is a mystery, but it does normally have something to do with performing feats that are normally impossible for their standard brethren (ex: uniting a gremlin tribe or defeating monsters using strategy and tactics)

The White Orc Variant is a particularly terrifying Orc because they are said to be blessed by the God of Deceit. While they are known to be strong combatants, what makes them extremely dangerous is their cunning, ingenuity and resourcefulness.

Now that Geezer has mentioned it, Marx could recall a fair bit of monthly quests that involves slaying an Orc Leader before he could gather up a large army. Apparently these Orc Leaders are White Orcs. Though it's just a mid level quest, it does explain why there are so many guides that keeps complaining that it is harder than its suppose to be.

Either way, the in-game lore states presence of the White Orc marks the beginning of the end. That is why when Elder Tale was still a game, players must stop it before the bud blooms.

In a sense, it's just like Pokemon except the rules are much crueler, the Pokemon are much more sinister looking and there are more than 3 evolutions. Not to mention that love, friendship and doing your best means squat.

While Evolution is common place in this world, Geezer stated that Marx was an abnormality.

While it is a known fact that demi-humans grows at a break neck pace, it normally takes more than 12 months for a decent Gremlin to evolve into an Orc. Since most Gremlins are idiots by nature, the process of acquiring essential skills such as strategy and tactics are painfully slow. Most Gremlins dont even make it to the first evolution due to the extremely steep learning curve.

Yet here comes Marx who successfully evolved after a mere 10 days since birth. It wasnt just abnormal... It was a down right impossible feat.

Naturally, Marx has mountains of gaming experience that gave him a huge edge in terms of understanding what needs to be done in this game-like world. On top of that, he also has to thank his IRL _work_ that allowed him to steel his nerves and do what needs to be done.

Knowledge is truly power.

Ofcourse, he doesnt tell Geezer that.

It's just like what his Grandmother used to say:

"Keep an ace up your sleave? That's what idiots do... Smart people keeps a spare deck their sleaves. Those gamblers that win all the time are the ones who make sure that they never lose"

Marx has been wondering this for some time now... But is his kind and loving Grandmother a bad person?

Nah... Cant be... Her words of wisdom has saved his life on a regular basis.

Anyway, Geezer suggested that Marx to stay in the cave and get a feel for his new body.

Marx agreed to that one. While he is currently feeling the sense of invincibility due to his power up, he knows that it would bite him in the butt if he allowed himself to indulge.

With that in mind, Marx makes his way to where Riz and Dor normally sleeps to inform them of his decision... The sight that met him was jaw dropping.

Just like Marx, Riz has also experienced evolution.

She has grown to the size of a girl in her mid teens with light gray skin and messy pale red hair, a standard look for a female Orc. Maybe Marx didnt notice it at first because gremlins looked the same to him, but Riz's eyes were quite sharp which gives her a cold beauty vibe.

In a scale of 1 to 10, she most cetainly scores a 9.5. She would have been perfect if she'd learn how to smile.

On the other hand, Dor remained a gremlin as expected. However, Marx has a feeling that his trap friend may not be too far behind.

Anyway, he told his companions that they'll refrain from hunting for now. As for food, the three of them will rely on the tributes that their brethren will be offering later on.

Mind you, Marx never asked for tributes or anything (though he planned to do so at one point in the future), but it seems that the rules of gremlin society states that those below must offer a small portion of their labor to the one who sits on top as a form of thanks for leading them to the right path.

Well... If they're willing, who is he to stop them?

For now, they started the day with the usual training. Naturally, the other gremlins were shocked to see Marx and Riz, but it soon turned to amazement and admiration.

To give them some motivation, Marx told them that evolution is inevitable if they follow his commands. Thanks to that, the gremlins were much more serious in their training.

What a bunch of simple minded fools.

For the rest of the day, he and Riz proceeded to spar with each other in order to get used to their new bodies. Naturally, Marx never lost a single bout thanks to his _work_ experience IRL, but he didnt win unscratched.

He was a bit hesitant on hitting a pretty girl such as Riz, but after receiving a bone breaking punch to the arm, his gentleman ways were thrown out the window.

Riz was strong when she was a gremlin, but now, she is REALY strong. If Marx didnt have his IRL experience, he would have been taking a dirt nap by now. She really is someone that fits the role of a tank and Marx is truly blessed for teaming up with her.

After that, Marx and Dor spent the rest of the day crafting new armor. It cant be help, seeing how both he and Riz suddenly outgrew their original apparel. It was mostly a larger version of their previous items, but it cant be helped.

He really should find a way to get past such crude equipment.

-:-

**Day 12**

Today, the trio resumes their regular hunting activities after morning training.

Thanks to Marx and Riz's evolution, their pace suddenly shot up to unrealistic levels. In barely an hour, 10 Blade Shrews and 13 Rhino Boars fell under pure brute force alone. He even called a few gremlins and have them carry the loot back to the cave.

It was obvious that Marx and Riz has grown too strong for the monsters near the cave. And just like any over leveled character, the two received little to no exp from their recent kills. The best solution for this would be to venture farther to hunt new prey.

With that in mind, the trio made a beeline to a place that they avoided in the past. It was a small and simple clearing but there was a demi-human called a **Naga Pathfinder** that regularly patrols it.

As its name states, it is a half man half snake demi-human with very light metal armor (a mere metal shoulder armor) that befits its pathfinder status. It also wields a simple short bow for its weapon.

The reason why Marx targeted the Naga Pathfinder is three folds.

First, the bow. While Dor's slingshot has done its job well, it pales comparison to the range and piercing power of the bow and arrow.

Second, the possible existence of a hierarchy among the Naga. If the Pathfinder is a scout, then there must be a chain of command with soldiers and leaders in their society. This means that each of them has a different skill set to complement their position. Marx will greatly benefit from devouring them.

Lastly, the existence of metal armor. If his guess is right, the Nagas have a forge in their home base. If he can get access to it, he can greatly increase the minimum gear quality of the entire gremlin society in one go. This is an opportunity he cannot pass off.

For now, he decided to test the strength of the Naga Pathfinder in order to get a vague idea on the opponents they might face.

After briefly stalking the Pathfinder, they formulate a plan and put it into action.

Using a poisoned stone, Dor aims for the Naga's lower body in order to cripple its speed.

Marx and Riz rushes with weapons drawn before the Naga can recover from shock. Unfortunately, the Naga was quick on the uptake and was able to dodge the duo's first few strikes by running full speed, but the effects of the poison and Dor's constant long range harassment caused it to fall face first into the ground.

For the next few seconds, Marx and Riz performed a series of excessively violent actions that may earn an R-18 rating in the movies.

They then split the meat among themselves and ate with gusto.

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Movespeed**

**New Skill Acquired: Item Identification**

Pretty standard RPG skills, but useful never the less.

Item Identification gives the name and a short description of any item. Let's take Marx's makeshift weapon for example.

**Item Name:** Makeshift Saw Sword

**Item Rank:** Production Class

**Description:** A tree branch with Rhino Boar horns attached to it. Not a very reliable weapon but if your desperate...

Well sorry for not making a reliable weapon! ... At least the description has a sense of humor.

The next skill, Increase Movespeed, is fairly self explanatory. This obviously works in tandem with his **Increase Leg Power** skill which can be incorporated to many strategies. A simple yet very useful skill indeed.

As for the loot, Marx gives Dor the bow and Riz receives the metal shoulder armor. It isnt much of an upgrade, but it's a start.

While Marx didnt get anything this time around, he gathers up the scales of the Naga. It's quite durable for something so light, thus it could be an armor with the right crafting techniques.

Satisfied with their progress, Marx took note of the area on his mental map and decided to head back even if it is still early.

While they could hunt more Naga's, Marx decided against it. There is a possibility that the Naga's might search for their fallen comrade in greater numbers, something of which they are still ill prepared to go against.

He must make preparations.

Upon reaching the cave, he gathered those with sufficient dexterity and used the loot the other gremlins gathered to mass produce leather armors for everyone.

-:-

**Day 13**

The day starts off with a very pleasant surprise. Just like Riz, Dor evolved into a standard Orc overnight.

Similar to his gremlin days, Dor's physical appearance as an Orc is incredibly feminine. His short brown hair is now up to his shoulders. Aside from his obvious lack of breasts, he sports subtle yet proper curves that normally befits a budding teenage girl.

It's seriously disturbing how pretty he is...

Marx cant help but wonder if the gods are trying to shoehorn a certain taste into his fetish list.

... Putting that thought aside, Marx decided to reward Dor by giving him the leather armor that Marx was currently using. It was fairly big for the femine Orc due to the large difference between their height and build, but until they can craft something that fits Dor, he will have to make do.

Dor was fairly surprised at this and tried to refuse. He insisted that as the leader, Marx has priority over them in terms of gear, food and women. Dor suggested that he can use a loincloth for the moment and tried to return Marx's clothing.

Marx countered Dor's humility by telling him that Marx's sacrifice was not an act of kindness, but as a risky investment. Marx values Dor so highly that he is willing to downgrade his own equipment to ensure that Dor's survival odds are better. In return, Marx expects Dor to further improve his needle skills which will be a very big contribution to the gremlin society in the future.

"It's a risky gamble, but it is worth it" Marx said while placing both his hands on top of Dor's shoulders

Unable to hold back his tears, the feminine Orc gently hugs Marx. As expected of Marx, he was down right confused of his current feelings for Dor.

Could Dor be the catalyst that will open an unknown path for Marx?

Before he could think any further, Riz suddenly sinks a painful body blow into his gut.

Jealousy is a scary thing...

The day began as usual.

After training, Marx revealed his plans of attacking the Naga tribe to his gremlin brethren. Naturally, they were a bit hesitant to go along with his plans, seeing how the Naga's are a step above the normal gremlin

Any opposition that met his plan was crushed by using the **Will of the Ruler** skill. He has no idea how it works, but he was able to convince entire gremlin community to prepare for war using words and logic alone.

He didnt scream, threaten or lie to anyone. He simply stated the benefits of taking over the Naga's lair and how the gremlins are more than capable of doing this task.

Mind you, Marx was never the charismatic leader type, but his words, tone and confidence was somehow enough to crush everyone's hesitation. This was quite surprising even for him. Maybe this is how Adolf Hitler pulled off his rise to power.

The Will of the Ruler is truly an amazing skill.

For now, Marx gathered those who had sufficient dexterity and gave them permission to use as much loot as they need in order to make weapons and armors for everyone.

For those who are incapable of crafting, Marx had them on hunting duty. They are to gather materials and food for the crafters back at home base.

As for the trio, they returned to the clearing yesterday to gather information on the Nagas. They stalked the area until a patrol consisting of 2 **Naga Soldiers **and a **Naga Druid **passed through.

As their name states, Naga Soldiers are heavier armed compared to the Pathfinder. They carry a sword and a chest plate. They dont look brand new, but they are miles better than what the trio are currently wearing.

On the other hand, the Naga Druid is as you'd expect of someone in the mage class. He dons a robe and a staff and nothing else, but this weakness is negligeable compared to his spells.

As far as Marx can tell, the Naga Druid is capable of using **Heal **(a HoT skill that all Elder Tale Healer class possesses) and **Stone Spear **(a Sorcerer/Druid missile skill). These may not look like much, but one of these is extremely vital for Marx's future plans.

While their wounds are normally remedied using the combination of medicinal herbs and the gremlin's natural regeneration, these methods are too slow. Receiving big wounds, even if its not lethal, can greatly hamper their ability to fight. Healing skills will remove this problem entirely.

Originally, Marx wanted to follow the scouting party to their lair, but the opportunity of learning a healing skill outweighs it.

With that in mind, they attack.

The strategy is simple.

The Druid goes down first with an poison arrow to the head from Dor. This greatly reduces the enemy's capability to prolong the battle.

Riz and Marx then charges while Dor pesters the enemy with his volley of poison arrows. With a simple application of concentrated fire, the 2 Soldiers falls with little effort.

Marx divided the spoils based on ability.

Riz moves from a leather armor to a chest plate in one go, thus increasing her defensive capabilities. For some reason, she insists on dual wielding instead of a typical tank build. While Marx has his reservations, he decided to let Riz do whatever she wants. With that, she now wields a spike club on one hand and a sword on the other.

Maybe her upgrade beauty has something to do with it, but Marx has been experiencing some difficulty turning her down as of late.

As for Marx, he gets a chest plate and a sword as his primary while inheriting Riz's spike shield as his off hand. Since he seems to be the only one with magic potential within the gremlin society, he keeps the staff and the robe as his back up apparel.

Dor gets nothing this time around but he doesnt seem to mind.

As per usual, the meat is divided among the three with Marx getting more of the Druid than the others.

From the Soldier, Marx receives:

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Heavy Armor Proficiency**

Quite simply, it is a skill that reduces the movement penalty while wearing heavy armor. Mind you, his movement speed has substantially dropped which resulted in the incapability of performing high flying acrobatic maneuvers. On the other hand, his movement on the ground remains the same and the added protection more than makes up for the deficit. All in all, its a win win situation.

From the Druid, Marx receives:

**New Skill Acquired: Heal**

**New Skill Acquired: Stone Spear**

Seeing how he received 2 skills from the Druid, it is safe to assume that the mage was stronger than the soldiers. Either way, the Healing skill was definitely worth the minor set back in locating the Naga lair.

Unfortunately there is a slight problem in his new skills. It seems that Druid magic can only be used when wielding either a staff or a magic centered melee weapon. He cant use a combat focused weapon (his current sword) if he wants to cast spells.

While he can dual wield a staff and a sword to bypass this predicament, he loses the protection of a shield in the process.

The problem not only lies with the weapons, but with the armor as well. While he can still cast magic while wearing heavy armor, every spell is subjected to an annoying phenomenon called an **Arcane Spell Failure** (a fairly big chance that the spell will fail to form when wearing non mage specific armor). If he wants to cast spells with heavy armor, the armor must be specifically made for mages, else he has to make do with robes.

Quite a predicament which requires a fair bit of thought. He'll figure this one out on a later date. Right now there are things that needs to be done.

For now, they decided to fall back to the cave while hunting miscellaneous monsters for crafting materials.

After hunting 10 Rhino Boars and 6 Blade Shrews, they went back home to help with the crafting preparations.

While there is a minor setback on the Naga's base location, another day of preparation is welcome.

-:-

**Day 14**

The following day, the gremlins that concentrated on crafting presents Dor with his own set of leather armor that fits his build.

Marx was particularly happy with this since he was fighting with only a loin cloth to cover his lower half. The cold draft that passed through his hotdog and eggs were quite uncomfortable.

Riz also received a gear upgrade. Her spike club, which was about the same size as a short sword, was replaced by an identical weapon that was the same size as a baseball bat and double the thickness. And as you'd expect, it was horribly heavy.

However, despite dual wielding a sword and a heavy spike club of different weights, Riz experienced no difficulty. Such is the testament to her ridiculous strength

After morning practice, Marx decided to test out **Heal** and was very pleased. As long as the patient has not received a lethal blow, Heal can pretty much repair any damage. Burns, cuts, scars, disfigurement due to blunt trauma, etc. The worst injury that Heal has repaired was regrowing a missing limb.

If you think about it, in-game injuries are nothing more than numbers on the HP bar. It does not reflect which body part was injured or how severe the injury is. With that in mind, it is possible for a crippled vegetable of a man to make a full recovery as long as someone refills his HP bar.

These actions were well received by the other gremlins. Some of them even started seeing Marx as some sort of messiah. While it's good to be admired, religious fanaticism can be a double edge sword if not utilized properly.

Before heading out, a gremlin named Adra prostrated before Marx and begged to let him join the group.

Adra was the last survivor of the gremlins that ambushed the trio a few days back. He stated that hunger clouded his reason and asked that he make amends by serving Marx for the rest of his life.

Truth be told, Marx had completely forgotten about Adra's existence if the gremlin hadnt presented himself in front of them. Since there was no downside to Adra's offer, Marx decided to give him a trial run.

Adra was outfitted with Marx's spike shield, Riz's small spike club and Dor's old leather armor. While second hand, this was a big upgrade for Adra who only used a simple club.

After they set out, Marx made Adra fight 3 Rhino Boars at the same time in order to gauge his capabilities. Mind you, 3 on 1 is a suicide scenario for a gremlin so Marx made sure that he was close enough just in case that Adra couldnt take it anymore.

The result if this test is as follows: Adra failed to kill even one of the Rhino Boars.

While this was expected for the weakest race, Marx was thoroughly impress with Adra seeing how he survived 10 whole minutes before Marx was forced to intervene. Once again, Marx found another gem among the gremlin filth.

Adra was a genius in defensive combat. Making full use of his shield, Adra accurately dodged, parried and block any attack that came to him. In comparison to Riz's aggressive fighting style, Adra is tougher, smarter yet weaker. If anything, he is more suited as a tank than Riz.

Marx heals Adra's wounds and officially welcomes him to the group.

The quartet makes for the clearing once again and stalks the area. A few minutes later, a group of 3 Naga Soldiers passes through, though this time, they look much more vigilant. Losing 2 patrols at the same spot must have tipped them off.

Fortunately for the Naga patrol, Marx has no intention of attacking them.

The quartet keeps their distance and stalks the patrol until the finish making their rounds. The patrol eventually leads them to a small cave near a river where about 15-20 Nagas were present.

Marx wasnt sure if that was all of them, thus they proceeded to stalk the entrance. About an hour or so, Marx makes a rough estimate of 21-24 Nagas were present in the cave.

Satisfied with their recon, the quartet began their long treck back.

They took down about 7 Rhino Boars and 4 Blade Shrews enroute, though this is merely for food and to help Adra level up.

Marx also tested his **Stone Spear **spell and discovered the annoying restrictions that separated warriors from mages

First he tried casting a spell with full armament. With a sword on his left hand, a rod on his right and his chest plate equipped, Marx instantly noticed that he was overweight. He could barely walk and running was out of the question.

Such immobility is fatal in the battlefield, thus he abandoned the idea.

Next he tried casting with only the rod and the chest plate. Here he realized how annoying the arcane spell failure was. Out of 10 attempts, he was able to succeed only 3 times.

A mage that is incapable of casting spells is no mage at all. He decided to fully abandon using heavy armor. Quite a shame really, seeing how he has just received the Increase Heavy Armor Proficiency skill.

He then attempted casting with the rod and the sword as equipments. While he did cast spells with no problems, the uneven weight made him unbalanced. He even experienced a fair bit of difficulty taking down a Blade Shrew which he normally eliminates within 10 seconds.

Quite simply, his body was simply not blessed with enormous amounts of strength, thus he abandons dual wielding all together.

FYI: Riz dual wields heavier armaments with little difficulty or effort. As you'd expect of an all brawn no brain character.

Lastly he decided to go with the standard mage set up. With a rod on his hand and light armor for protection, he casted Stone Spears with no difficulty what so ever.

From the looks of it, any non metal heavy armor is good enough to avoid arcane spell failure. However, robes seems to have special effects that boost a mage's efficiency.

The brown robe that Marx took from the Naga Druid is imbued with the ability to increase the damage of all spells.

Last but not the least, was the Stone Spear itself. After testing it on a wide variety of enemies, Marx can say that the Stone Spear was a very powerful spell despite its looks.

A single Stone Spear was able to puncture through the thick spike armor of a Blade Shrew and killing it with one shot. This is something that not even his current sword could achieve.

All in all, despite Marx's preference to close quaters combat, the mage path is not something he should easily disregard.

At home base, Marx and Dor proceeded to help with the crafting preparations. Riz took her usual spot beside Marx and remained silent. Adra had some talent for crafting so he helped out a bit.

Later that night, Marx gave his brethren a briefing on what they have learned and commanded them to eat to their hearts content, sleep early and get ready for tomorrow.

-:-

**Day 15**

The gremlins ate just enough to last through lunch, then made one last inspection on their gear.

Thanks to the 2 days allocated to crafting, the gremlin's equipment were mostly consisted of a spike club, spike shield, shepherd sling and leather armor. Quite an improvement if Marx says so himself.

As for Marx himself, he decided to go full mage on this battle. With this set up, he can give commands while in the middle of their formation where the best view of the overall battlefield is at, and still contribute to the offense with his Stone Spear.

Marx gave his 32 brethren one last briefing before they headed out.

It was still dark when they left their home ground and day break approached when they were in range of the enemy camp.

The battle began

Long story short, Marx and the gremlins won without a single casualty.

At the start, Marx noticed that there was about 4 Nagas on night watch duty. They quickly eliminated 3 in a noisy manner in order for one of them to alert those who were inside.

They then positioned themselves near the entrance and formed a kill zone for the Nagas within the cave to unwittingly waltz into. Naturally, Marx adopted a strategy where a single Naga would face atleast 2 melee gremlins and an unknown number of fire support from the rear.

At this point, Marx understood that he clearly misjudged Riz's combat abilities. While she is indeed tough, her true calling was not to be a tank. Riz's forte was actually that of a berserker.

He realized this when he saw Riz's spike club smash into the chest plate of a Naga Soldier. While it did not kill the Naga, the damage was so severe that even Marx could hear the shattering of bones from a distance. Riz then finished it off by chopping its head off.

This was all executed within 3 seconds which is a fine testament to her brute strength. The most terrifying about it is that she constantly maintained her emotionless mask. Quite scary.

The summary of the battle is as follows:

3 Nagas died in their surprise attack

About 14 more died by the entrance of the cave due to their killzone

5 perished when the gremlins stormed the cave. They were unable to move freely due to the limited space within the tunnels

The last 3 which comprised of the **Naga Clan Chief **and 2 other **Naga Soldiers **fought bravely in their main shrine room, but was easily brought down due to the large number of gremlins.

While the Clan Chief did challenge Marx into a one on one duel, Marx simply commanded his entire force to attack in unison.

'Unfair?' you say?

There is no such thing as **fair** in war. Taking another one's life is the ultimate form of theft. It is unfair no matter how you slice it.

It is like what Marx's Grandma used to say

"Honor, fairness and respect does not win wars. Wars are won by the skillful application of excessive force"

With that in mind, Marx and his gremlins slaughtered each and every Naga to the last man. By lunch time, the deed is done and the gremlins bask in their victory.

With elated morale and deflated stomachs, Marx decreed that the Nagas will be the gremlins feast for the day. By removing the scales and cooking the meat, the gremlins partake in an all-you-can-eat snake barbecue.

Surprisingly, snakes tastes like fish. Not bad.

Skills gained from Naga Soldiers:

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Resistance to Slashing Weapons**

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Water Resistance**

**New Skill Acquired: Decrease Damage Over Time Duration**

Mostly defensive passive skills but definitely useful. The Decrease DoT Duration skill is particularly handy if Marx was forced to fight enemies that possesses skills that can inflict Burn or Poison.

Skills gained from Naga Clan Chief:

**New Skill Acquired: Track Allies**

**New Skill Acquired: Heart Beat Detector**

An interesting set of skills, that's for sure.

Track Allies is similar to a GPS tracking device that tracks all of the people that Marx considers as allies. There seems to be a range limit on how far his radar can detect his allies. Quite useful when keeping a close eye on his patrols.

Heart Beat Detector, on the other hand, is an something out of the ordinary. By focusing hard enough, Marx can hear the heart beat of a certain target.

To experiment this ability, Marx used Riz as a test subject. He thanked her for her efforts and patted her on the head. The result of this was a slight increase in heart rate.

"I'm very happy that a cute girl like you is at my side" said Marx to Riz.

"I see..." replied Riz with her monotone and expressionless voice.

On the other hand, her heart rate skyrocketed.

Heart Beat Detector is not something that can be underestimated. Who knows what use it has in the future.

After the feast, Marx commanded the gremlins to go back home and make preparations in order for them to move the next day. On the other hand, Marx will stay in the Naga's Cave in order to keep it secure.

After the others have left, Marx decided to explore the cave.

The Naga's cave is surprisingly large with numerous rooms and facilities.

There is a barracks complete with bunk beds that could easily house 40 Naga's at the same time. Seeing how there is a big difference in body size, the room could easily fit 50 gremlins with a fairly good degree of personal space.

There is also a primitive looking kitchen complete with pots, knives and a stove. While none of them knows how to cook beyond the usual over-the-fire frying method, the presence of a kitchen might be useful in the future.

There is also an armory filled with numerous weapons and armor. With the amount of arsenal in this room, Marx could easily level up all of his subordinate's equipment from leather into metal in one go.

Then there is the main reason why Marx decided to invade the Nagas, the forge. With this, metal weapons and armors are now easily available. There is a major problem of the lack of knowledge in using a forge, thus it is useless for now. Hopefully, he'll find someone with knowledge in the near future.

Next up is the shrine. While it is simply a large empty space, there is an small box that contains what seems to be the center of Naga worship. Inside the box was a heart that still beats for some reason.

Marx uses his **Item Identification** skill

**Item Name:** Serpent's Lore

**Item Level: **Phantasm Class

**Item Type: **Consumable

**Item Description:** It was said that the Ancient Naga's were once beings that could withstand the test of time. The Serpent's Lore is the symbol that the Naga's were once immortal.

Interesting... And it's consumable?

While he wanted to know more about the it, the only ones that possesses the information are now in his digestive track.

Without a second thought, he eats the Serpent's Lore.

**New Skill Acquired: Viper's Aspect**

**WARNING: Only one Aspect is allowed per person. Once you learn one, it is permanent and cannot be removed. Will you proceed learning the Viper's Aspect?**

Oh? ... It seems like the Viper's Aspect is a rare skill. And since it's one aspect per person, then Marx might not find another one like it.

Suddenly, Marx realized that there was a countdown timer on the pop up window, and there was only 5 seconds left.

"_Oh crap!"_

As much as he wanted to learn more on what entails with the Viper's Aspect, he had no time to lose. He said yes to the pop up message.

**New Skill Acquired: Viper's Aspect**

**-Increase effectiveness of all magic**

**-Further increases effectiveness of Earth based magic/skill**

**-Further increases effectiveness of Water based magic/skill**

-**Further increases effectiveness of all Damage/Heal-Over-Time magic/skill **

-**Further increases effectiveness of Healing spells**

... Crap...

This is what happens when one does not think before acting.

With only one aspect per person, Viper's Aspect forced Marx to go onto the Mage path. While he can still fight in melee combat, pursuing it is a good way to waste Marx's potential.

His dreams of becoming a Swashbuckler now became impractical.

Marx can do nothing but facepalm in regret.

While wallowing in his carelessness, Marx continued to explore the Naga's Cave.

Aside from a few private bedrooms, the only thing left to see is the dungeon.

Compared to the other parts of the cave, a great deal of designer thought went into the dungeon's construction. While it looks like any other medieval dungeon you see in the movies, the bars are covered with small metal thorns, the wall between one cell and the next was atleast 20 foot thick, and there seems to be numerous instruments of torture lying around.

Marx cant help but be impressed of the sick fetish that the Naga Clan Chief has. Butchering him to death was clearly the right decision.

Marx then notices that the dungeon was housing 4 prisoners.

One was a Naga that looked like he was at the later half of his lifespan. Despite his age, he had enough muscle to put most of the Naga soldiers to shame. He looked at Marx with calm eyes, as if he has accepted whatever fate he may end up with

Next was a female centaur that seemed to be in her early 20s. As you'd expect from a popular MMORPG, the character designs were greatly beautified. The female centaur had waist long brown hair and rosy white skin. Based on her sharp eyes and rigid demeanor, Marx can guess that she's a soldier,

The last was 2 People of the Land with varying age. They seemed to be a mother and son since they both shared dark blue hair and many similar facial features. The mother looked like a strick beauty in her late 20s with shoulder length hair that was tied into a ponytail. The son was about 10-13 years of age with short hair. They also seemed like civilians based on the child being scared as hell while the mother tried her best to look calm despite being frightened herself.

The common thing about these 4 is that they are all injured in varying degree.

The worst one was the Naga with many fresh wounds all over his body. He was also missing an eye and a few fingers on his left hand. He doesnt look like he'll survive beyond the day

Next was the centaur who had all four of her legs broken in an ugly fashion. If she doesnt get treatment, she'll be crippled for the rest of her life

Last was the mother and son pair with a bunch of cuts and bruises. Nothing life threatening.

He approaches the Naga and says.

"My name is Grem Marx. Please tell me your name and the reason why you are here." said Marx, much to the surprise of the Naga.

The Naga hesitates for a few seconds, but then answers.

"I am Rashid Salaih. I was imprisoned here due to a crime against my clan."

Rashid is the blacksmith of Naga's that originally inhabited this cave. His crime was an illicit affair with the Naga Clan Chief's wife.

While he never had feelings for the woman, that cannot be said to the other side. The woman tried to seduce him multiple times though he ignored her advances.

Unfortunately for the Rashid, the Clan Chief found out and extracted harsh punishments despite Rashid's innocence.

The wife was executed via beheading while Rashid was subjected to torture until he dies. Quite an ugly state of affairs.

"I see... I understand." said Marx.

Marx then casted healing on the Naga until he was back to full health. While confused of Marx's actions, the Naga thanked him never the less.

Marx moves to the centaur and repeats his introductions.

"I'm Janette Windwalker. I am a prisoner of war" said the centaur.

A few weeks ago, there was a big clash between the local Centaur tribe and the Nagas with the Nagas emerging as victors. The centaurs were routed and 10 survivors were captured. One by one died under the Naga Clan Chief's _games_ until Ranette was the only one left.

This actually explains why the bunks in the barracks did not match with the body count. Marx and his gremlins seemed to have attacked the Nagas while they were still suffering from the effects of their clash with the centaurs. Quite a pleasant series of coincidences

Marx thanked the centaur and completely healed her wounds.

Last but not the least, Marx introduced himself to the 2 Landers.

"My name is Lisa Bristof and this is my son James. We were captured by a Naga raiding party"

The Bristof family belonged to a group of traveling trades that went from town to town. About 10 days ago, their caravan was attacked by a Naga raiding party and all but the 2 of them were slaughtered. Their cargo was looted and both of them were taken as prisoners.

Normally, this incidents never happened due to the presence of Adventurers, yet 15 days ago, they suddenly stopped helping the Landers for some reason.

This actually piqued Marx's interest.

He was reincarnated into this world exactly 15 days ago. There might be some connections to his current predicament and the state of the Players AKA Adventurers.

After thanking the Bristof pair, he heals their wounds until not a scar was left.

Marx then decided to release them, but could not find the key to their cells.

With that in mind, Marx asked them move to the corner of their cells as he used Stone Spears to destroy the lock.

At that moment, Marx realized how powerful the Viper's Aspect was. Before, his Stone Lance had enough power to embed itself to a Blade Shrew's back. It also was able to penetrate atleast 3 inches into the chest plate of a Naga soldier.

But now, the Stone Lance blew through the incredibly thick metal lock and made a fist size hole on the cave's wall 5 meters away. The increase in traveling velocity and penetrating power was astounding.

Maybe going full mage wasnt so bad after all.

For now, Marx told the 4 prisoners to gather in the barracks. There he explained the annihilation of the Naga's under the gremlins hands and the plan of taking over the cave.

He told them that if they want to leave, they are free to take whatever they needed from the armory. He has no intention of stopping them.

On the other hand, he advised against leaving due to the abundance of monsters in the area.

For now, he suggested that they should get some rest. They can occupy which ever room they desired and make use of whatever equipment they can find. Whatever plans they have, Marx suggested that they put it off for tomorrow

With that said, the 4 went their own separate ways.

Rashid went to the forge

Janette slept in one of the bunks in the barracks

The Bristofs went to a private room.

Marx position himself at the mouth of the entrance and stood guard. Once in a while, he would hear painful sobs echoing through out the cave.

This world is truly a harsh one.

-:-

**Day 16**

It's been a while since Marx forced himself to stay awake for an entire night. While staying up all night on guard duty wasnt really required, Marx didnt want to be complaisant and end up regretting it.

A few minutes after dawn, he spots his gremlin brethren with Riz taking up the lead.

As expected of his loyal second in command, Riz and the gremlins arrived as scheduled with every bit of luggage they could carry.

Marx pats Riz on the shoulder for a job well done.

Marx then gathers all the gremlins before the entrance and told them to stay there because he has an important announcement.

He then went back into the cave and woke up the 4 prisoners. He then led them to the entrance and introduced them to the gremlins.

He specifically told them that the 4 prisoners are important guests. Should anyone try to harm them, Marx will make sure that the offender will experience the full pleasure of the Naga Clan Chief's torture chamber.

He then told the 4 that they are free to do what they wish as long as they do not harm the gremlins. He also reminded them that he has no intention of stopping them from leaving.

The 4 answered with a nod, yet they still look undecided on what to do.

Seeing this, Marx allowed them to stay as long as they want until they decided on what to do. If they have any problems, Marx insisted that they come to him for help.

Marx gives Dor temporary command of the gremlin community as he was too tired to stay away for today. Marx leaves him with instructions in regards to the gear distribution, training menu, bunk assigning and many others.

With that out of the way, Marx headed for one of the private rooms.

He was already asleep before his head landed on the pillow.

-:-

**Day 17**

It was raining today, thus after morning practice, he decided to check up on the state of things.

Thanks to the increase in minimum gear quality, yesterdays hunting session went well even without Marx's supervision. Because of that, there are plenty of food and raw materials to be used, so he is pretty sure they wont get hungry or bored.

The priority in Marx's agenda for today is to gather info on Aspects. With that in mind, Marx searches for Geezer to make use of his pool of wisdom.

Eventually, he finds the old gremlin together with Old Naga Rashid whom was reminiscing of the good old days. It seems that they have developed a certain bond thanks to their old age.

It was quite convenient that they are together since he planned on asking them about Aspects.

When Marx made his inquiry, Rashid seemed very pleased at his thirst for knowledge.

Geezer then boasted that Marx is truly one of the rare few that gives a damn on how the world works.

From there, the two demonstrated how old men loves long wind explanations.

An Aspect is an extremely rare passive skill that pushes a monster's capabilities far beyond what is normally possible.

There are many ways to get an aspect. Sometimes its through eating a rare consumable, sometimes it is learned through an ancient tome or sometimes it is passed down from teacher to student.

Despite having different methods of acquisition, aspects are incredibly rare and very few are given the chance to have it.

One thing is for sure though, most of the monsters with aspects are extremely powerful that it even the dreaded Adventurers stand little chance of winning against it. In most cases, Adventurers normally require atleast a full raid of 24 members in order to have a slight chance against a monster with an aspect.

In laymans terms, a monster with an aspect is normally a Boss monster.

The Viper's Aspect seems to be related to the nameless patron deity of the Nagas. Information available is scarce because the teachings were mostly kept secret by the Naga Clan Chief and is passed on to the next generation orally.

One thing is for sure though, the Naga's Patron Deity symbolizes wisdom, healing and rebirth. This fact is further inforced by Marx's massive increase in affinity to Water and Earth which are normally elements that has deep connections to life itself.

While Marx decided to follow through with being a mage, it seems that he also has great potential as a full support healer. Another annoying predicament has popped up...

On the other hand, Geezer has high expectations for Marx since mages are incredibly rare among the gremlins. They are stupid after all.

Marx spent the rest of the day either crafting with Dor, Adra and Riz (thought the female gremlin didnt do anything) or double checking if the instructions he left yesterday were followed.

With no particular problems found, Marx called it a day.

-:-

**Day 18**

Today, Marx gave a generous amount of pain to some gremlins during training.

Originally, it was an accepted fact that gremlins were no match to a naga event if they outnumber them 10 to 1. Gremlins are the weakest race in this world after all.

However, thanks to the victory they have achieved 2 days ago, some gremlins became overconfident and started spouting nonsense like they have become strong and dont need to train anymore.

Confidence may be good but overconfidence is bad, and in this world where the weak is food to the strong, overconfidence is lethal.

To solve this predicament, Marx turned to his Grandmother's ever trusty words of wisdom.

"There are 3 possible cure for arrogance. Humiliation, Violence and Death. Choose wisely"

Taking Grandmama's words into heart, Marx decided to go with humiliation and violence.

In front of many, Marx used his full physical might on the arrogant gremlins and beat them to a bloody pulp. He even went as far as using magic to blow one of the gremlin's arms off its hinges.

Ofcourse, he quickly healed their injuries. He has no intention of reducing their already small manpower.

Thanks to his actions, the entire gremlin society was reminded that they are still in the bottom of the totem pole. Death is still very much a reality to them, thus it is much better to be prepared than be sorry.

FYI: while Marx has decided to go full mage, he has no intention on slacking off his physical training. A tough mage that is quick on his feet is much better than your garden variety physically weak mage.

After training Janette the centaur approached Marx and expressed her desire to join their next training. While she was still undecided on her future actions, she has nowhere else to go due to the annihilation of her tribe. With no concrete plan, she'd rather train herself than worry endlessly.

Marx approved without a fuss. He told Janette to chose a weapon of choice from the armory and have the other gremlins craft her an armor.

With a thank you, Janette proceeded to do just that.

Oh yeah, it seems that a fully grown centaur stands much taller than an average adult human male. An example of this is Janette who stood a head taller than Marx, though this is mostly thanks to her lower body.

If she was human, she'd be at the same height as Riz.

On another note, Marx seems to have acquired a new taste in women. He cant really help it though since Janette is one very pretty centaur. From her cute horse ears, to her ever serious facial expressions, to her decently sized breast, to her stallion lower body. He finds her quite attractive

**New Fetish Acquired: Centaur Fetish**

Just kidding.

Today he went hunting with Riz, Dor and Adra. With the occupation of the Naga's Cave, all of their equipment have improved considerably.

Riz and Adra sports a chest plate, shoulder pads and gauntlets that were made of metal. Adra dons a small buckler and a short sword that befits his gremlin size while Riz dual wields an iron mace and a long sword on each hand.

Dor sports his usual leather armor with a long bow as a primary weapon, 1 obsidian knife and 2 metal knives.

For Marx, he sports his regular leather armor which a robe as an overcoat. As for weapons, his primary is his staff and a long sword as a back up weapon.

Thanks to that, nearly every opponent they encountered faced a one sided slaughter.

For now, Marx focused on Adra in order to make him an Orc as quickly as possible. His defensive skill is too much of a gem for Marx to ignore.

While they didnt encounter anything new today, they leveled up in an acceptable pace and they filled their stomach. They also gathered a fair bit of crafting materials to be used at a later date.

At night, Marx went through the armory because no one had any idea on the actual contents. Aside from the expected weapons and armor, Marx found a fair bit of hidden treasures in the pile.

First and foremost, finely made survival backpacks. This may not look like much, but these backpacks allows them to carry a lot of support items without hindering their movement. It also allows them to carry more loot than can be used for food/crafting.

A profitable discovery, without a doubt.

Next discovery is A LARGE PILE OF GOLD! ... Well truth be told, it is worthless as of the moment, but you never know when money is required. Better keep it handy for now.

Last and most certainly not the least is a book called **Introduction To Magic**. Marx couldnt contain his excitement when he discovered it beneath the pile. He literally ran back to his room and began studying the contents

Unlike learning spells from monsters via Devour, learning from a book requires him to completely understand the inner workings in order to acquire a spell.

Thanks to his experience using Stone Spear and Healing, he was able to learn a fair number of spells.

**New Skill Acquired: Flare Arrow**

**New Skill Acquired: Icicle Blade**

**New Skill Acquired: Slicing Wind**

**New Skill Acquired: Heartbeat Healing**

**New Skill Acquired: Thorn Bind Hostage**

Flare Arrow, Icicle Blade and Slicing Wind are, more or less, basic projectile magic similar to Stone Spear with different elemental properties. He found this easy to learn

Heartbeat Healing is an Earth based non channeling HoT spell that constantly recovers a target's HP for an extended period of time. Since it's basically a Heal that is extended for a long period of time, Marx also found it easy to learn.

On the other hand, Marx struggled to learn the Enchanter's Thorn Bind Hostage since he has no experience in root-type spells. While it took him 5 frustrating hours of trial and error, it was more than worth it.

With Viper's aspect, he can expect great things from Icicle Blade, Rejuvenate and Stone Spear.

Learning new spells the hard way was tiring but satisfying.

-:-

**Day 19**

The day started on an unexpected note.

Before training started, Marx spotted 2 new additions to the usual line up.

First is Janette Windwalker who was wearing a chest plate while wielding a long sword and a longbow. From the looks of it, she's a flexible warrior that can do both melee and long range combat. In a sense, she and Marx have similar fighting style.

The second and most unexpected was the 10 year old James Bristof. He was wearing a bit of leather armor and a short sword for a weapon.

Marx asked why he was here.

While fighting down his obvious fear, James replied that he wanted to train.

Marx asked why.

With tears in his eyes, James replied that he never wanted to feel powerless again. He desires to gain power so that he can protect his mother.

Good kid.

Marx decided to test James out.

The 2 took center stage, and at Marx signal, James began attacking him at full force. As expected, the child was horrible at this.

As a son of a merchant, James lacked any form of combat training, thus he swung his sword clumsily.

The other gremlins laughed at the sight of this.

"SILENCE!" roared Marx. "You were all like this before I took over!"

Naturally, the gremlins silence themselves in shame.

Despite his humiliation, James continued his attack with tears in his eyes. The kid has guts, that's for sure. But that means little in the wild where the weak are crushed like bugs.

For now, Marx ended their sparring and took James to the corner while the other gremlins began their training.

He told the child nothing but the facts. Since his physically weak, then the obvious solution was strengthening his body.

It was simple push ups, sit ups, running, etc. but the basics are the most important if James wants to improve.

With the will of steel reflecting on the youth's eyes, James engrossed himself in training.

Truth be told, Marx wasnt sure if James will ever equal the gremlin's fast growth, but it was hell better than letting the child cry helplessly in the corner.

Who knows? The child might end up becoming one of those heroes in Elder Tale Lore.

Morning training proceeded as usual until Lisa Bristof ran into the training ground in a panicked state. Upon spotting James who was doing laps under Marx's supervision, she rushed at the white orc while screaming for his son's safety.

"What were you thinking?! James is just 10 years old! " screamed Lisa

Since Lisa was only an inch shorter than Marx, she looked him in the eye. Quite a brave woman.

The gremlins (especially Riz) didnt like her attitude but Marx told them to continue with their training.

"He asked me to help him become strong. I just complied with his wishes" Marx replied in a calm manner.

"He is weak! He-" said Lisa but Marx cut her off.

"Did you enjoy watching your family and friends die? James didnt." Marx replied, causing Lisa to clamp up. "He desires never to feel helpless again. I see no reason to stop him."

Unable to find a satisfying answer within herself, Lisa simply clinged to Marx and cried her heart out.

FYI: Lisa is one hell of an MILF... But now is not the time to admire that.

James wanted to comfort his mother but Marx told him to continue his training.

Riz wanted to smash Lisa's head into a bloody pulp but Marx told him to continue with her training.

Seriously... Jealousy is a scary thing.

After Lisa calmed down, Marx led her back to her room and put her to bed.

No... He did not smexy time her.

Even he isnt cruel enough to abuse a woman in emotional distress.

He then returned to the gremlins and proceeded with his training.

A few hours later, Marx and his usual group went hunting while increasing Adra's level in the process. The hunt proceeded normally and there were no significant events.

No news is good news.

Later that night, Marx continued to train himself in the magical arts before going to sleep.

**New Skill Acquired: Atral Hypnos**

-:-

**Day 20**

Rashid approached Marx during training and asked if he was interested in making higher quality weapons and armor.

Naturally, Marx said yes.

Rashid explained that while he can make do with the iron found in the Naga's Cave, there was a mine where they can ores with top grade quality. Unfortunately, this mine was infested with Black Ants so it was a bit troubling to extract ore.

Surprisingly, this was the same mine where Marx, Riz and Dor encountered the Queen Black Ants and her minions. With no hesitation, Marx agreed to Rashid's plan and began making preparations.

This time, Marx's party comprised of himself, Riz, Adra and Janette Windwalker.

Dor seemed to have found a passion for crafting. It wasnt just leather works, but also potion making, cooking and other feminine crafts. While Dor felt guilty about it, he asked Marx if he could focus his time on his passion.

The loss of a trusted archer in the frontlines was unfortunate, but Marx understood where his friend's passion lies, thus he agreed with no fuss. He gave Dor permission to use the stockpile freely.

Marx also told Dor to use a book that he found in the armory. Along with the Introduction to Magic, Marx also found **Alchemy for Beginners**, **Jewel Crafting 101** and **The Food Encyclopedia** among many others. While Marx was only interested in the magic book, there were too many books that had potential use in the future, thus he kept it all.

Unfortunately the only one in the gremlin community who knows how to read was Marx, thus he suggested to ask Lisa Bistrof for assistance.

With a smile that could melt Antarctica, Dor gave Marx a hug and went on his merry way.

What a confusing young man.

The quartet then proceeds to the cave specified by Rashid.

With a powerhouse like Riz in the front and a nuker/support like Marx at the back, the 4 tore through the swarm of Black Ants like insecticide. Marx was almost nostalgic of the time where the original trio fought tooth and nail just to survive.

As expected, Adra was experiencing a bit of a challenge fighting off the endless swarms of Black Ants, but it was necessary for him to evolve to an Orc as quickly as possible. Ofcourse, Marx made sure that he was fully healed, and if the need arises, Marx could slaughter the Ants with a barrage of spells.

On the other hand Janette seems to be at the same level as Marx and Riz.

While they were fighting, Janette explained that Centaurs also experience Evolution. Similar to Grelim-Orc, Centaurs evolution is normally **Centaur**-**Dragoon**.

Do note that the word Dragoon has no relation to the mythical fire breathing beast.

Janette, who has more than a year of combat experience, has underwent her first evolution into a variant of the Dragoon called a **Cuirassier**. A Cuirassier is the middle ground between a **Dragoon **(light armor, long range) and a **Knight **(heavy armor, close combat)

While she cant display her full might due to the cramp space of the cave, she does show of her archery skills. In this case, she uses the ability called **Arrow Shower** where she fires one arrow which suddenly spawns 10 more out of nowhere and damages multiple enemies at the same time.

Quite an impressive sight if Marx says so himself.

Oh by the way, Marx could finally see how much improvement the Viper's Aspect has done to his magic.

His favorite spell Stone Spear goes through atleast 5 Black Ants before the projectile loses its momentum and stops.

The Icicle Blade which originally launches a singular ice projectile now has a grenade like effect where it explodes on impact and damages nearby enemy with shrapnels.

Heal, which originally was a one shot HP recovery, now has an HoT effect right after the HP is restored.

Heartbeat Healing normally recovers HP every second for 15 seconds now does it every 0.5 seconds.

While the rest of his spells remained the same, these 4 was not how Marx remembered when Elder Tale was a game.

He can now understand why Aspects are normally found in Boss Monsters.

Anyway, the quartet exterminates every last Black Ant in the cave and mined a large number of high quality ores. They then took whatever they could carry and returned to HQ.

By the way, it seems that centaurs can carry at least 5 times more than an Orc. Naturally, Janette was not pleased of being a baggage donkey, but she performs her role anyway, seeing how these ores will greatly help them in the future.

The quartet then deposited their entire loot in the storehouse by the forge, pleasing Rashid in the process. The old Naga then told them that he intends to deliver on his promise of high quality weapons and armors. With the amount of high quality ore at his disposal, it is possible for Rashid to make Production class items that can rival low-mid tier Artifact class items.

Marx is looking forward to it.

When the dinner time came, the food that was served was so delicious that Marx couldnt stop himself from crying. It seems that Lisa Bistrof and her assistant Grem Dor was behind the culinary masterpiece.

While raw meat was good and all, nothing beats the perfect balance of spices and cooked ingredients.

Marx was so happy that he told Lisa that if there's anything she wants, anything at all, Marx would do his utmost best to give it to her. Ofcourse everyone knows that this is an exaggeration, but Marx was seriously happy enough to follow through on his word.

For the first time since they've met, the ever strict Lisa smiles beautifully. As expected of a hot MILF that would look good in a business suite.

After dinner, Marx went back to his room and tried to learn the spell **Purification Barrier** of the Shaman Class (Kanagi in Japanesse Server). Unfortunately, he experienced great difficulty and was not able to make any sort of progress.

While he was trying to figure out what was he doing wrong, Lisa suddenly visits and asks if he had time to talk.

Well, since he was at a dead end with the Purification Barrier, Marx agreed to chat.

They mostly chit chatted about irrelevant things.

Unfortunately, there was something in their conversation that reminded Lisa of her deceased husband, resulting in her unable to keep her emotions at check. She cried while clinging to Marx.

He stroked her head while patiently waiting for Lisa to calm down.

Marx has seen this type of behavior IRL during his _work_. At times of extreme distress, someone acting as an emotional crutch is sometimes necessary to stabilize an controllable emotion.

It is similar to how Riz formed romantic emotions to Marx, though in Lisa's case, she was already driven into a corner. Marx just happens to be there to alleviate her pain.

Lisa eventually calms down but continues to lean on Marx's chest in silence. Another person's warmth is important when in times of uncertainty.

30 minutes of silence passed before Lisa spoke.

She thanked Marx for listening to her and asked if he could walk her to her room.

Marx agreed.

Lisa held Marx's hand and walked in an excruciating slow pace, turning a 3 minute walk into a 10 minute procession. Upon reaching her and her son's room, Lisa took another minute to let go of Marx's hand.

Once again, she thanks Marx for his time and entered her room where her son slept peacefully.

"_Emotional wounds are always the most painful form of injury"_ thougth Marx as he went back to his room.

He accidentally bumped into Riz at the corner, and without as much as a warning, ends up in the receiving end of a painful body blow.

As he crumbles into the floor, it didnt take him long to understand why Riz did what she did.

"_Physical wounds due to jealousy are also painful"_

-:-


	3. Chapter 3

**Day 21**

While in the middle of their regular morning training, a question suddenly popped up in Marx's mind.

He has been in this world for 20 days yet all of the Demi-Human monsters he has encountered possesses some intelligence in one form or another.

Geezer did once say that when a Demi-Human dies, he/she gets teleported somewhere else and live his/her life as a random faceless mob. Yet Marx has yet to see a single monster with AI characteristics. More specifically, Marx has yet to see the 7 gremlins that were killed by his party a few days ago.

With that in mind, Marx went to Geezer and inquired about it. The answer he got was quite interesting.

Based on the rules of the world since time immemorial, when any monster with intelligent dies, they are teleported to some random area very far away from their point of death.

Apparently, Marx misunderstood how far away is **very far away**. Based on Geezer's knowledge, those who have died usually ends up in a different continent than where they first died.

Why does this happen?

Geezer simply answered that it's just the way it is.

Not a very convincing answer that simply made no sense, but then again, when did this world ever follow common sense?

Back to the topic.

The reason why there are no mindless monsters in their area is because this place was originally sealed off from the outside world. Aside from the monsters and People of the Land that originally lived here, there are no other living things came from anywhere else.

This powerful seal seems to only go one way. It allows the inhabitants of their area to leave but does not allow anyone to enter. This seems to apply to the AI monsters where not one of them have been teleported into this area.

Apparently, the reason why there are no other gremlins aside from them is because the generation before them was able to find a way to exit the island. No one knows how they did it, but the entire gremlin community left their young in Geezers care and went on a journey.

What a bunch of irresponsible parents.

While the isolation of their area seems to be absolute, there have been a sign that it is not the case.

A **Wyvern**, something that is not a native to this region, was spotted in the mountains about 20 days ago. While it was killed by other monsters, it does not change the fact that this island's isolation maybe coming to an end.

From what Geezer has told Marx, he could clearly understand what is the current state of affairs.

Quite simply, their area is a new map of the Novasphere Pioneers Expansion.

The reason why they havent met a single Adventurer is mostly because, just like Marx, they are trying to figure out how to live in this world. Exploring new horizons is very much at the bottom of their priority list.

At the very least, Marx can have some peace of mind that encountering Adventurers are still a long ways off. This gives him a lot of room to maneuver, thus he begins planning for the next phase of his world domination plans.

For now, Marx has Riz, Adra and about 6 more gremlins head for the Black Ant lair in order to mine for high grade ore. His plan is to constantly mine ore in order to boost the gremlin's overall gear level.

On the other hand, He and Janette proceeded to evaluate the path from their HQ to the mine, assess the monsters along the path and their threat level along with other details involved with making a supply chain.

The ore mine is an extremely valuable resource and Marx plans to exploit thoroughly. And because of its value, Marx has to carefully plan out how much manpower is he willing to invest in its security and operation.

After scouting around a bit, he returned to the cave and proceeded to brain storm with Janette, Rashid and Dor for a tentative plan. Eventually they came to the verdict that they simply dont have enough manpower to keep it under their control, but they can send a fairly large force of about 10-15 to exterminate any Black Ants that might appear and dig up the ore.

It's a plan on the drawing board so they wont implement it hastily. For now, Marx will be leading the mining group until a better plan is formed.

Later that night, dinner was another fine feast thanks to Lisa and Dor.

After practicing and failing on barrier magic, Marx went to bed.

-:-

**Day 22**

Today, 2 very good events transpired.

First is the result of Rashid's smithing.

As promised, he made a few Production Class Items with performance that rivals that of an Artifact Class. The old man was truly skilled at smithing and Marx is pleased that to have such an asset on his team.

On the down side, due to the fact that Rashid's smithing is on such a high level, the amount of ore he used was astronomically high compared to the number of items he has produced.

At the moment, Rashid has produced 1** Obsidian Full Plate**, 1 **Heavy War Bow**, 5 **Black Gladius**, and 1 **Demon Hammer**.

These are all top of the line items that would make any Adventurer drool in envy. Naturally, Marx wouldnt have settled for anything less, considering how Rashid went through all of their ore in one sitting.

All in all, Marx was pleased of the result.

The next pleasant news of the day was Adra's evolution to the Orc race. If one considers how much monsters Marx forced him to kill, it was only a matter of time.

Surprisingly, Adra looked like one of those guys in a shoujo manga. He is an exceedingly handsome young man in his late teens with shoulder length brown hair and sharp eyes. He seems to be one of those prince charming type of characters, befitting his role as a shield wielding knight.

To reward him for his efforts, Marx bestows Adra with the Obsidian Full Plates and 1 Black Gladius. While his shield is still an a metal buckler that they looted from the Nagas, it will have to do until Rashid can craft newer armaments.

As for the rest of the items, Marx distributed them as follows:

Riz gets the 2 handed Demon Hammer and a Black Gladius

Janette gets the Heavy War Bow and a Black Gladius

Marx gets a Black Gladius

Dor gets a Black Gladius

In regards of Dor, Marx originally wanted him to have the Heavy War Bow, but Dor persuaded him otherwise.

From the looks of it, Dor wanted to spend less time hunting and more time in improving his crafting skills.

Naturally, Marx wasnt pleased with this because this would undermine Dor's growth. But since he could see that Dor was much suited for crafting, he decided to compromise.

If Dor promises to hunt atleast half a day, Marx will not stop him from doing what he wants. This agreement ensure that Dor will continue to grow in strength while improving his craft at the same time.

Sure, it's in a slower pace than going all out with the others, but Marx hopes that it will pay off someday.

Naturally, Dor agrees to the terms and promises not to let Marx down.

Marx cant help but regret the loss of his 3rd most powerful piece, but this gamble could pay off big time, thus he allows it.

With that said and done, Marx heads to the mines along with Riz, Adra, Janette and the 6 gremlins that he brought yesterday. Along the way, they destroyed 6 Rhino Boars, 3 Blade Shrews and, for the first time in a while, 9 Plague Ravens.

Just like usual, his comrades cringe at the sight of Marx eating the Plague Ravens.

**New Skill Acquired: Decay**

As expected of the Plague Ravens, they are so weak that Marx needed to eat 9 of them to get one skill.

Decay is a Water type single target spell that continuously damages the target. A fairly straight forward DoT skill. Marx can expect good things from this one due to his Viper's Aspect skill

The group eventually arrived at the mines and began clearing the ever present Black Ant population with little difficulty, especially if you consider that 4 of them are on their second evolutionary state.

However, their peaceful mining trip turned into chaos 1 hour later.

Without warning, an earthquake shook the mine.

Fearing for the possibility of a cave in, Marx quickly gave the order to abandon all of their belongs and run for the exit.

Unfortunately, instead of the usual ceiling collapse, the ground opened up and dragged Marx, Riz and 2 of the low level gremlins down the hole. It was a sudden 50 foot drop, but this was nothing thanks to their naturally durable body.

Sadly, it was nearly impossible for them to climb back up due to the damp cave wall.

To make matters worse, a massive 10 foot humanoid hulk made out of earth was there to meet their acquaintance.

This monster is called an **Earth Golem** and it clearly didnt view Marx's group in a favorable light.

Without further ado, the battle began.

The Earth Golem throws its massive fist, but as you'd expect of a magical construct, it was slow and predictable. Never the less, one clean hit from that thing will most likely result in an instant death.

Marx hates fighting something that he has no knowledge off, but there are times like this where it just cant be helped

It's just like what Grandmother used to say

"When life gives you lemons, you give life the middle finger, bash his balls in and steal everything in his pockets. That will teach life to never mess with you"

While that didnt really make sense in Marx's current predicament, it does mean that one does not simply accept the crap life is giving to you.

With that in mind, Marx began giving out orders

Adra is to return to HQ and secure some rope in order for the ones trap in the hole to get out. While normally Adra is to act as a tank and take hits, Marx understood that the Earth Golem was out of their league. Making Adra fight it is plain stupidity.

Janette and the other 4 gremlins that didnt fall into the hole are to provide long range distraction to the ground team. Since they are out of the Earth Golem's range, they can shower it with arrows and rock with no consequence.

Unfortunately, the Earth Golem's armor is quite resilient, thus their long range support has little effect

Riz is to do what she does best and flatten any enemy within reach. Due to her high offense specs and greatly improved weapons, Riz capable of somewhat damaging blows against the Earth Golem.

Marx is tasked with the stressful jobs of defending the 2 gremlins that fell into the hole, commanding Riz and finding possible weak points in the Earth Golem's extremely durable armor (which they soon discovered that it had none).

First Marx fired multiple **Icicle Blades **at the Golem's stomach. While it didnt do much damage, it did rapidly decrease the temperature of that certain part. He then followed through with multiple **Flare Arrows** in order to quickly increase its temperature.

He repeats this process 5 more times.

Since an armor made of rock is not an effective heat conductor like metal, the rapid change in temperature compromises its durability, resulting in a brittle structure.

After one last **Icicle Blade**, Marx casts **Thorn Bind Hostage** to immobilize the Golem. He then commands Riz to use both hands in wielding her Demon Hammer and hit the stomach of the Golem with all of her might.

With a loud bang, the Golem's stomach shatters, causing its entire body to give way due to unable to hold the upper body's weight.

It was a tough 1 hour battle but they eventually took down the Earth Golem. Surprisingly, this feat was accomplished thanks to a very simple application of science.

Yey science!

He checked the condition to 2 gremlins that he protected. Aside from the expected trauma that they suffered, they are more or less in tip top condition.

Marx then checked on Riz who received the most injuries. The damage was mostly concentrated on her arms due to the fact that she had to use full power in order to parry the Golem's punch. As a result, both of her arms are broken.

He healed her wounds and told her that she did a good job.

The second her arms could move her arms, Riz suddenly hugs Marx.

Well, it was one of the toughest battles they had experienced, thus he allowed Riz to do what she wanted.

However, he soon realized that he misunderstood Riz.

Riz suddenly began rubbing her voluptuous breast at Marx chest. Her face was red and her breathing is seductively ragged. Her usually emotionless eyes were telling Marx to push her down and violate were not signs of relief, but of a sexually aroused woman.

"_Why?" _Marx wondered.

They were not in a situation where such arousal was a result. If anything, this was a life and death situation with Riz as the one who received the most agony.

Marx has one theory as to why Riz is acting like that, but he decided to keep it to himself. Since there was no evidence, then his theory is baseless... Atleast that's what he tells himself.

Marx asked Riz to let go of him, which the girl complied without fuss.

Riz returned to her usual emotionless self, yet for some reason, Marx could feel that she was violating him with her gaze.

... Marx decided to ignore this for now...

Marx searched the Earth Golem's corpse for something edible. Despite its rugged exterior, the Golem's internal parts were as soft as clay. It didnt take Marx long to find a green nut within the center of the Golem's chest.

Marx uses his **Item Identification** Skill

**Item Name:** Seed of Life

**Item Level: **Artifact Class

**Item Type: **Consumable/Crafting Material

**Item Description:** All Golems have cores that powers them and define their elemental affinity. In the Earth Golem's case, the Seed of Life is a commonly used core because it can be found almost anywhere.

The Seed of Life is the size of a golf ball, thus Marx expected that it wont fill his stomach. Never the less, the Earth Golem was an opponent above their league, which makes it a perfect prey for skills.

Without further ado, Marx ate the Seed of Life

**New Skill Acquired: Earth Armor**

**New Skill Acquired: Negate Damage**

**New Skill Acquired: Leach Seed**

**New Skill Acquired: Earth Cannon (Blessing of the Earth Upgrade)**

**New Skill Acquired: Earth Shaper (Blessing of the Earth Bonus Skill)**

He certainly hit the jackpot on this one.

First and foremost, Marx finally understood why the Earth Golem was so tough.

Earth Armor is simply an armor that is made out of pure magic, thus bypasses the Arcane Spell Failure problem. It is fairly heavy (just about the same weight as a heavy armor), but the added protection is more than enough to make up for it.

By the way, it seems that it is affected by the **Increase Heavy Armor Proficiency** skill, thus he can move at acceptable speeds.

Negate Damage automatically cancels out a certain amount of damage.

By combining the thick protection of the Earth Armor and Negate Damage, the Earth Golem blocks out a fair amount of damage before it could reach the core. A very good combination if Marx says so himself.

Next is the Leach Seed. It is an Earth Based DoT spell that also acts as a life steal mechanism. It is exactly like the ones you see in Pokemon.

Earth Cannon seems to be an upgrade for the Stone Spear spell. Quite simply, Earth Cannon hurls a heavy rock at high speeds.

Earth Shaper on the other hand is a non-combat magic which is normally used to manipulate earth into whatever shape Marx wishes. With this, Marx created a simple stone stairs that leads back up to the Black Ant mine.

Adra's efforts of bringing back a rope was wasted.

By the way, it seems that the **Blessing of the Earth** skill that Marx received in the past may be activated whenever Marx devours something that has high earth affinity. If that's the case, then Marx would seriously hunt for those types of opponents to increase his skill set.

Marx is really pleased at the result of their conquest.

However, now that Marx is not under the threat of being squashed like a bug, he realizes that the hole that they fell into leads to a massive hallway. He wasnt sure what exactly have they stumbled on, but he decides to explore it at a later date.

One climactic battle has sapped them with a lot of strength. They need to rest for now.

Marx told his minions to carry as much ore as they can and head back to base.

This day was a grueling yet fulfilling one.

-:-

**Day 23**

Today it rained heavily in their area.

With that in mind, Marx decided to take it easy.

After their usual morning practice, Marx joined Dor and began crafting.

It seems that the ore that Marx's group has brought from the mines had some hidden gems mixed in with them. According to Dor, this were not pretty stones but something called **Mana Stones **which are normally used to imbue items with additional power.

With that in mind, Dor began a project of creating a robe for Marx.

Apparently creating a mages robe is not as easy as producing a leather armor. Based on Dor's research, a mages robe is an intricate art of weaving thin mana threads into a piece of cloth. The material used must also be considered carefully so that mana can move freely through the apparel.

Mind you, Dor's explanation made little sense to Marx, but he did understood that this is no simple project. It could take days to finish and a large amount of materials is bound to be used up.

Well, since they have a relatively large stockpile, materials is not a pressing issue.

They used a white cloth that they found among the Naga's loot as the base of the mage robe.

As for weaving the mana threads into the robe, Marx could only do so little to help Dor. It required precision finger work, a fairly large amount of Spirit Stones and a master artisans knowledge to pull it off.

The only thing he could do was crush the Spirit Stones into fine powder and soak the thread into it.

At some point in time, Lisa Bristof joined in and began helping out. As you'd expect of a domestic wife, Lisa's needle work rivaled Dor's in every turn. Thanks to her cooperation, the robe could be finished in a day or two.

As for Marx, since he has outlived his usefulness in the project, he left it to the 2 and went to Rashid.

The old Naga was also in high spirits thanks to the continuous influx of ores.

At the moment, he decided to craft a staff for Marx. Using the ore and spirit stones that they gathered, Rashid envisions it to be extremely durable without sacrificing its ability to strengthen a mage.

With a robe and a staff to look forward to, Marx cant help but be happy. He is a gamer after all. New equipment will always make him happy.

Next up, he meets Janette and began putting the final touches in their plan to create a supply route from the mine to their HQ.

As far as from what they have observed, the monsters enroute are comprised mostly of Rhino Boars, Blade Shrews, Red Rabbits and the occasional Plague Raven. Most of these are monsters that the gremlins have been eating on a daily basis, so there is little threat on their path.

Assigning about 6-10 gremlins to mining duty should do just fine.

Their main concern is the hole that opened up yesterday. They werent sure where it leads and what opponents lie within. For now, they decided to explore it at a later date.

After discussing that, Janette then began to tease Marx about his unclear relationship with Riz.

In contrast her serious demeanor, Janette seems to be the Tomboyish Older Sister type of person. She makes vulgar jokes while locking Marx in a headlock. Marx decided to go with the flow and pretend to be the unwilling younger brother victim.

Marx likes to think of this exchange as a sign that Janette has finally began to trust him.

While the 2 continued their horsing around, a powerful arm pulls Marx away from Janette.

The arm belonged to Riz as she wordlessly pulled Marx, but not before shooting a death glare at Janette.

Scary...

Riz then brings Marx to the entrance and then... Well... They just stood there.

When Marx asked what was the matter, Riz remained silent.

When Marx tried to leave, Riz simply held his hand and followed silently

Marx may have seen his share of romances in his life, but he doubts even a professional skirt chaser could make sense of Riz's actions. Even a brick wall would have given him more info.

With no means of reading his ever loyal second in command, Marx headed back into the cave. Naturally, Riz didnt let go of his hand.

At some point, they bumped into Lisa who has just finished dinner preparation.

Without warning, the temperature suddenly plummeted.

Marx thought it was just his imagination, but was 8 people present in the vicinity and all of them could sense that there was something going on between the two ladies.

There was no killing intent or hate within their gaze. It's more like the two are sizing up their opponent.

... This could be bad...

-:-

**Day 24**

Marx, Riz, Janette and Adra leads a group of 8 gremlins towards the Black Ant Mines.

The 8 gremlins were to mine ore until their backpacks are full and return to HQ as soon as possible. After that, they are to return to their daily routine

On the other hand, the Marx quartet went down the hole and began exploring.

Their formation and responsibilities are as follows.

Adra is to take the vanguard position and is to act as a sort of scout.

Riz is also a vanguard though she lies closely behind Adra and is responsible of eliminating the enemy as quickly as possible.

Marx stands in the middle and acts as the commander. He is also tasked of backing up both the front and the back with heavy firepower if the need arises. He also acts as the teams navigator thanks to his **Automatic Terrain Mapping **skill.

Janette stands in the very back and acts as a rear guard who supports the front with long range fire. Since she is the fastest and most versatile in their group, she can quickly change her role from a sniper to a vanguard if the need arises.

It's a fairly basic straight line formation, but it doesnt change the fact that it is effective.

As they moved through the tunnels, Marx noticed 2 particular things.

First. Despite being underground, they can see fairly well. There wasnt a single visible light source yet they could see as if they were underneath the sun. This actually leads him to the second particular thing: the tunnel that they are in is man made.

It wasnt clear at first due to the overgrowth and a few cave ins, but there are partially intact statues every 10 or so meters. The floor is also made of square shaped concrete-like blocks.

This isnt a tunnel... It is hallway of a castle.

And just like any castle, there are bound to be guards roaming around.

The first monsters they encountered were 8 **Hell Hounds**. It looked like a Doberman that reached the height of a full human adult. To top it all off, they moved quickly and in a coordinated manner.

And just when Marx thought it couldnt get any worse, the Hell Hounds could cast flare arrow while moving.

While it looked bad for them, Marx always had a trick or two up his sleave.

Marx lets loose an **Intimidating Roar**, effectively paralyzing the Hell Hounds.

From that point onward, it was a one sided beat down.

Riz and Adra quickly closed the distance and introduced their steel to their targets.

Janette fired off an **Arrow Shower** and took down 3 at the same time.

Marx blew apart 2 with a single Rock Cannon.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Hell Hounds have high resistance to disabling effects. Barely 7 seconds after being paralyzed , those who were still alive quickly retreated.

Marx counter acts this by casting Thorn Bind Hostage on one, Astral Hypno on the second and Decay on the third.

This is the first time Marx ever used Decay before and its effects were quite terrifying to watch.

The Hell Hound violently spasms in pain, its skin began to age with great speed and its legs snapped as if it could no longer hold its own weight.

While Marx expected something like this, it is never easy to watch a living thing die in absolute agony.

They eliminated any remaining stranglers and feasted on their remains.

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Debuff Resistance**

**New Skill Acquired: Combat Casting**

Another set of skills that have limitless potential.

Increase Debuff Resistance is self explanatory.

Combat Casting is a phenomenal skill in every sense of the word. This allows Marx to move and attack with no fear of spell interruption. This also increases Marx's resistance to interruption when receiving an attack, though it is advised not to receive an attack at all.

This allows Marx to still effectively wield his mage spells while fighting melee.

Satisfied with development, Marx and company continued on with their journey

They eventually exited the long hallway and the sight the greeted them was awe inspiring. It was a massive labyrinth of stone bridges that extended as far as the eye can see. If you look downwards, there are innumerable stone bridges and tunnels.

While Marx wasnt sure, there might be a river of sorts at the very bottom of the endless maze.

He has no clue what this place is, but it reminds him of that one scene in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. This seems to be where that fire demon Balrog would appear.

Would Marx have the opportunity to say YOU SHALL NOT PASS?

Maybe

Either way, Marx cant helped but be excited of the things to come.

They continued on the long maze of intersecting bridges, stairs, ladders and vertical drops until the bridge in front of them was destroyed by a powerful **Water Ball** spell. It was so powerful that not even the Adventurers could cast a similar spell in such a magnitude.

They moved closer to the edge of the bridge and spots a monster called **Demon Frog** about 1 level below them. The Demon Frog is simply a gigantic frog the size of a house.

Despite it's size, it was actually weak.

Riz jumped over the edge and killed the Demon Frog with a single gut busting hit from her Demon Hammer.

The rest of them jumped after her and began eating the Demon Frogs remains. Despite its disgusting appearance, it actually tastes good.

**New Skill Acquired: Mana Overcharge**

**New Skill Acquired: Water Ball**

Apparently, Mana Overcharge increases the MP requirement of a skill/spell by 3 times, but increases its effectiveness by 6 times. Unfortunately, this is only limited to offensive skills/spells, thus cant be used on spells like Rock Armor or skills like Increase HP Regen.

Never the less, Marx clearly received one hell of a skill.

To demonstrate this, he fired off an Overcharged Water Ball and achieved the same result as the Demon Frog.

Quite impressive if he says so himself.

After that, they decided to head back before they'll lose sight of their original entry point. Though this is impossible due to Marx's Automatic Terrain Mapping Skill, it is better to be safe than sorry.

It didnt take them long to return to the surface and head back to home base.

After that, Marx and Janette began drawing maps in order for future explorations to be done without Marx as the lead. He wasnt sure if gremlins could read maps, but that is another problem he needs to solve.

Dinner was great as usual thanks to Dor and Lisa

At night, Marx finally pulled off the **Purification Barrier **that he has agonized to acquire for so long

**New Skill Acquired: Purification Barrier**

Thanks to that, Marx went to bed completely satisfied.

-:-

**Day 25**

After training, Marx decided to hold off hunting for today and implemented a plan he has been working on since he entered this world.

As much as he wants to fulfill his ambitions as the ruler of the world, he is but one man/monster. Taking all the responsibilities of every sector of a kingdom to himself is not only idiotic but also inefficient.

A true ruler is not someone who knows everything, but someone who knows how to use human resources to maximum effect. To understand what makes a person tick and to place him/her in a place where his/her talents are most effective is the most basic yet most important skill that a ruler must posses.

With that in mind, Marx began assigning other people to positions of power. Sure, his kingdom is extremely small at the moment, but he decides to build up his foundation as early as possible in order for his minions to get used to their roles quickly.

However, he cant just simply place his trusted subordinates in key positions due to the gremlin society's **might-makes-right** form of governance.

To remedy this, Marx announced that on that day, the position of leader belongs to no one. They will have a simple round robin tournament to decide who the next leader is.

It took nearly all morning but the result are as expected.

The ranking are as follows: First is obviously Marx followed by Riz, Dor, Adra and then everyone else.

As much as Marx wants Janette to join in the ranks, he prioritized the unity of the gremlin community in order to avoid future conflicts. Janette understood this and decided to hang back.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

Since Marx is once again the undisputed leader of the gremlin community, he began giving positions to those who he deemed worthy.

Dor gets second overall command of the gremlin community which mostly entails logistics and day to day decision making. Since he clearly was smarter than the rest, he was clearly the only one qualified for the position. He has also proven his worth when Marx left him in charge a few days ago, thus no one complained.

Riz is assigned as the second in command when it comes to military matters. This includes training, security of their home base and leading the vanguard.

Someone actually objected to this. While it is true that Riz has the best track record when it comes to mowing down the enemy, the gremlin stated that she lacked the flexibility to take command.

Marx was surprised and pleased with this objection. It was correct in every sense of the word which means that there was another gem hidden within the pile of brainless idiots.

Before Marx answer the gremlin, Riz rushed in and landed a spinning heel kick into the poor thing, nearly killing it in the process.

Marx quickly used Heal on the gremlin.

He then scolded Riz for her unnecessary show of force. He would have done his best to defend his decision and quell the unease of their gremlin brethren, thus there was no need to hit anyone.

Riz apologized to Marx and the gremlin she nearly killed, then she returned to where she was standing.

Marx then made sure to remember the unconscious gremlin that made the object. It was a female with short blue hair, and based on her friends, her name is Hali. Apparently, she was one of the gremlins that Marx defended when they fought the Rock Golem a few days ago.

Satisfied with this information, Marx continued on with the meeting.

Despite not joining the round robin tournament, Geezer was given the task of teaching the gremlins the basic knowledge needed to survive. While he has tons of stock knowledge, Marx specifically wants Geezer to teach the gremlins how to read.

Being literate can save one's life

After that, its mostly a rundown of the stuff that the gremlins already know. It's mostly focused on Marx's rules and regulations so its really not necessary but its good to do a refresher.

With that said, Marx adjourns the meeting and commands them to resume their hunting activities.

Since there wasnt much time remaining, Marx decided to put off exploring the labyrinth for today and concentrate on hunting food.

-:-

**Day 26**

Before their group could head out for the labyrinth, Marx finally received his long awaited gear upgrade.

Rashid presented him with a jet black staff made of pure metal. At the very end of it is a large dark blue spirit stone that was shaped like a blade.

Rashid named it the **Mage Edge **which is capable of functioning as both a staff and a spear. He also boasts that it wont lose to Riz's Demon Hammer in terms of durability.

Marx was so happy that he hugged Rashid out of reflex.

No gamer can resist the allure of new items.

Next up, Dor and Lisa presented him with a white and black overcoat which they named **Robe of the Saint**. It boasts high magical resistance and defensive capabilities rivaling that of a leather armor despite being a robe.

Not only did it have great functionality, it also made him look cool.

Overcome with sheer joy, Marx hugged Dor and spun him around a few times.

He then hugged Lisa and kissed her on the lips, causing her entire body to stiffen. He knows that suddenly kissing a married woman is bad and all, but he was simply too happy to give a damn of the consequences.

Fortunately, Riz didnt witness the scene, thus Marx avoided unnecessary injuries

He quickly donned his new equipment and led his usual party towards the mine.

As per usual, Marx, Riz, Janette and Adra are to explore the labyrinth while Hali and 5 other gremlins were to mine for ore. Just like last time, Marx told the 6 gremlins that they only needed to fill their back packs with ore once, then they are free to hunt whatever they wanted.

The 4 went down the labyrinth and made decent due to their previous exploration.

Marx experimented on the effects of Mana Overcharge when used in conjunction with his other spells. The effects where quite pleasing to the eyes.

Earth Cannon received an upgrade on the size of the projectile from 3 inch diameter to 8 inch.

Icicle Blades now fires multiple projectiles at a single cast, which happens to be similar to that of a standard shotgun bullet. It's quite devastating since each projectile explodes on impact due to the Viper's Aspect upgrade.

Slicing Wind also receives a shotgun like upgrade

Flare Arrow now burns the target

12 Hell Hounds and 7 Demon Frogs were the unfortunate test subjects of Marx's upgraded spells. Thanks to that, they ate like kings

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Fire Resistance**

**New Skill Acquired: Increase Water Resistance**

These were the last skills that Marx could learn from the Hell Hounds and the Demon Frogs respectively.

Despite the awesome power Mana Overcharge has granted Marx, he decided to not use it all the time. While his status screen doesnt display his HP and MP, he is pretty sure that he has limits. He'd rather not run into a situation where he ran out of mana because he used Mana Overcharge excessively.

They continued on.

Thanks to Marx ability to make bridges using his Earth Shaper skill, they easily traversed through many areas that are originally unaccessible.

After going down a few more levels, they are greeted by 50 **Zombies**. Just like the name states, their new adversaries are mostly rotting human corpses.

Due to their undead nature, Zombies boasted considerable physical strength and endurance, making them a challenge to engage in close quarters combat. To make matters worse, they also have an ability to poison anyone within close proximity to them. Truly a nightmarish enemy for the melee class

On the other hand, they are considerably slow, thus are easy prey for long range attacks.

With that in mind, Marx had his group execute a simple attacking-while-moving strategy that the great riders of the Mongolian Empire are famous for. Quite simply, they keep themselves out of the Zombies range while Marx and Janette rain down hell on them.

It took the four a fair bit of time but they eventually exterminated every last one of the Zombies.

Marx tried to eat the Zombies but gained no skill in return.

Maybe all Undead beings are considered dead? Or maybe it is some other reason entirely?

Either way, Marx's effort of shoving down the 10 rotting corpses down his throat was wasted completely. While he wont get sick from eating such putrid meat, the after taste made him puke a few times.

With that in mind, Riz insisted that they called it a day and returned to HQ

-:-

**Day 27**

Today Marx is confronted with a crisis he has tried to ignore for quite some time now. The issue itself brings no harm to anyone and it doesnt get in the way of their day to day activities, thus Marx thought that time would eventually solve this one.

Apparently, he was naive to think so.

Just when dawn was about to break, Marx and Geezer was forced into a meeting with Dor, Lisa and Janette. Marx had a vague idea why their meeting was held when everyone else was still asleep, but he decided to listen to the three's words.

The topic of their concern was Riz, or more specifically, her subtle yet evident change in character. The change was so subtle that only Marx, Dor, Lisa and Janette were able to sense it.

The first one to sense the change was Dor.

About three days or so after Riz evolved into an Orc, Dor noticed that she developed some unconscious body language that are strangely erotic by nature.

One example of this is her way of walking. Originally there was nothing worth noting in this department, but after evolving to an Orc, Dor noticed that she began walking in a manner that caused her hips to lightly sway. Since Dor was still a gremlin at the time, he usually forced to watch her erotic behind for hours at a time due to his height.

Another example was Riz's way of standing. In the past she would take a neutral stance where it is near impossible to read her body language. Nowadays she would place one hand on her hip while leaning ever so slightly to one direction, which places further emphasis on her curvy hips and large breast.

Marx was quite shocked that he never noticed such a big change. Dor said it was only natural that he overlooked it because Riz normally stands behind Marx, thus away from his field of vision.

The next one to notice the change was Janette.

During training, Riz is normally charge with teaching those who specialize in melee combat. While she normally keeps her emotionless persona during this time, Janette spotted a few times where Riz would smile erotically while beating down her gremlin brethren.

Janette emphasized the fact that Riz smiled not in sadistic glee but in sexual pleasure. Janette thought this was Riz's normal reaction, thus she ignored it for now.

However, one particular event made Janette doubt her own hypothesis.

This again happened during training, but this time Riz faced of with Marx. Since he was the only one who can match her full strength, their sparring tends to be slightly more violent compared to the norm.

Janette never really thought much about it, until she saw Marx winning with a painful straight punch that made Riz hit the floor face first. Since Riz was facing away from Marx, he didnt notice her facial expression. But from where Janette was standing, it was a face of a woman that just underwent a powerful orgasm.

Janette could accept someone who found pleasure from inflicting pain, but she found it disturbing for someone to experience ecstasy from receiving pain.

Marx just found out about this particular quirk of Riz when they faced the Golem, so he wasnt really surprised by Janette's report.

Last but not the least is from Lisa's perspective.

In the few days the two have known each other, there was a certain level of caution between them. In this past few days, both have successfully probed each other for strengths and weaknesses, thus in a sense, they know each other surprisingly well.

However, the usually emotionless Riz suddenly changed 2 days ago. During dinner time that day, Lisa noticed how Riz licked her spoon in a very suggestive manner while staring at Marx.

At the time, Marx wax busy thinking of which person was best for a commanding role, thus he didnt notice that Riz was already violating him with her eyes. Apparently this behavior has caused quite a bit of unrest within the gremlin community.

Quite simply, the male population got horny just by witnessing Riz's display.

Marx already foresaw the problem with pent up sexual urge a long time ago, thus he allowed the male gremlins to sleep with the female gremlins as long as both sides have mutual consent.

While Marx did have a guilty pleasure of enjoying erotic material with forced sexual relationship themes IRL, he is a firm believer that rape is bad. That is why if he ever hears that one of the male gremlins forces themselves on the female, that gremlin would experience the full joys of the Naga's torture chamber.

On the flip side, Marx just recently realized that female gremlins had stronger sexual drive than males. There have been times that the females have forced themselves on the males, but Marx decided to ignore this since both sides are happy.

FYI: Male gremlins are like altar boys or something. They rarely get horny as long as they can kill something... Seriously how simple minded can they be?

Got a bit off track there. Let's return to the topic.

While the females actually welcomed the increased male sex drive, Lisa expressed concern that Riz never performed the fine arts of burning of her urges. Lisa fears that Riz might suddenly explode and Marx will most likely be the target of the blast.

With their statements presented, Marx realized how little he knew about the gremlin society and the gremlin physiology in general. He then decided to ask Geezer for his input.

Geezer then began explaining how the gremlin society normally works.

Normally, the gremlin society is matriarchal in nature, thus females are the ones that call the shots. The males normally function as either seed bags for future generations or as sacrificial pawns that protect the matriarch.

This is why Geezer said to Marx in the past that he is an abnormal existence.

Marx asked why Geezer never told him about it.

Geezer replied that because it was interesting to see what a male leader could do to, thus he let them be. So far, Marx has exceeded Geezer's expectations, thus he had no reason to stop him.

On the topic of the matriarch, it seems that Riz is the prime candidate for the position. She is relatively powerful and will not hesitate to use it, while at the same time, wielding a stunning beauty that is strong enough to keep the males in line. Such characteristics are typical of a Matriarch.

Next up is the gremlin physiology.

Generally, males have considerably inferior brain power compared to the females, but as a trade off, they are born in large numbers and a physically superior.

Exceptions to this are people like Dor who normally end up as the matriarch's favorite toy.

How is this related to Riz?

Simple.

While it is earlier then the norm, Riz has began to awaken her characteristics as a matriarch. However, due to the fact that it was ingrained into her that Marx stood on top, her leadership and thinking skill growth might have been greatly hampered.

How about Riz's abnormal reaction to pain and strange obsession with Marx?

Maybe she is simply just like that from the very beginning. Everyone has different preference after all.

With that said, Marx was convinced and decided the next course of action.

In the case of Riz's unhealthy personal tastes, he decided to let it be. They just had to accept the fact that this is one of Riz's quirks and trying any action to correct it might backfire. Everyone has one or two weird characteristics about themselves, it just so happens that Riz possesses a particularly weird one.

Reluctantly, Dor, Janette and Lisa agreed with Marx's reasoning

They concluded the meeting and began the day.

After training, Marx then began implementing a leadership training program.

Riz, Dor and Adra were all tasked to lead their own party of 5 gremlins for the next 4 days. Marx told them that this is to for him to properly gauge their ability when taking command.

Janette, who had tons of military experience, was to oversee them and give advice in what they can improve.

There was also another objective hidden in this exercise.

Marx placed the female gremlin named Hali in Riz's team with the task of observing her. She was to take note of any reaction that felt out of place and report them to Dor or Janette.

On the other hand, Marx would lead a group of 5 gremlins into the mines in order to get some ore.

It was a particularly boring day for Marx since he was mostly mining.

-:-

**Day 28**

The leadership training continued on through today.

However, unlike last time, Marx decided to go down the labyrinth for some solo adventuring.

What can he say? Hitting rocks all day is boring as hell.

Leaving behind his minions, Marx jumped down the hole and proceeded to do a speed run through the places they already explored.

Since he no longer has anything to gain from the staple monsters in the current floor (Hell Hounds, Demon Frogs and Zombies), he decided to jump over a bridge and went 3 floors down.

If he ever wanted to go back up, he could always use his Earth Shaper skill to form a flight of stairs. The problem is that Earth Shaper is a channeling skill, thus he must not be interrupted if he wants to make anything. Well, as along as he slaughters all the monsters in the vicinity, it shouldnt be a problem.

Barely 5 minutes into the new floor, Marx encounters his first adversary.

It is a minotaur-looking monster with jet black skin that stands at 6'5" to 6'8" in height. The most notable aspect of it is 4 set of powerful looking arms. It is called a **Lesser Demon** and before Marx could even make a fighting stance, it has already introduced 2 of its fist into Marx's face.

Marx was blown back due to his carelessness but he quickly turned the fight around.

He quickly casted Thorn Bind Hostage, activated Mana Overcharge mode and fired off an Earth Cannon that blasted 2 of the Lesser Demon's arms off its hinges.

Seeing how it didnt die from that, he followed through with a Water Ball which blew its body into several pieces. It was a bloody mess in every sense of the word.

He ate the Lesser Demon which tasted like congee. Chicken congee to be precise.

**New Skill Acquired: Blink Strike**

Blink Strike is the ability to teleport within melee range of the enemy and land a strike with no delay.

Now that explains why Marx got hit before he could even react. He could have sworn that there was a fairly decent distance between him and the Lesser Demon when they spotted each other.

With Blink Strike, the range advantage of a mage is quickly reduced to zero. This is a very powerful skill if Marx say so himself.

A few minutes later, while walking in what seems to be a vacant hall, his **Threat Detection **and **Detect Living **skills act up.

He could see it but he had a fairly good idea that there was something hidden on the ceiling about a few meters from his location.

Unsure of what it was, Marx decided it was a good time to test a spell he hasnt used yet.

He took aim and fired off **Decay** into the spot where he felt the presence of the enemy. And as expected, a thin grayish humanoid silhouette falls to the floor. This monster is called a **Stalker Fiend**, and like its name states, it seems like it has the ability to turn invisible.

Marx prepared to fight but soon realize that it was unnecessary.

The Decay that he casted landed on the Stalker Fiend's leg and proceeded to work its gruesome magic. The leg began to age considerably fast, blood vessels pop and wounds suddenly open up without warning.

Marx was used to blood and gore so the sight was nothing to him. Unfortunately, the Stalker Fiend's high pitch screams of agony, coupled by its violent twitching, made scene particularly unbearable to watch.

Taking pity on his foe, Marx ended its suffering with an Earth Cannon to the head.

Thanks to this battle, Marx realized that Decay was probably the strongest spell he has on his current arsenal. High DoT while able to keep the opponent rooted on the spot with crippling pain, and this was done without using Mana Overcharge.

Decay is truly a fearsome spell.

He felt sorry for the Stalker Fiend who had to experience something so horrible. After offering up a prayer, Marx ate the Stalker Fiend's remains... And boy was he shocked.

It tastes like chocolate! Everything from its flesh to its blood tasted like Belgian chocolate!

How in gods name does a monster taste like high class chocolate?!

This world is as mysterious as it is messed up.

As a sucker for sweets, Marx's completely forgot his guilt and devoured the Stalker Fiend until not a single drop of blood was left.

**New Skill Acquired: Shadow Run**

**New Skill Acquired: Hiding Proficiency Increased**

Shadow Run temporarily grants the user invisibility and a massive increase in movement speed for 5 seconds. Clearly this is a skill that was made for escaping, but Marx can think of many ways to use it.

Hiding Proficiency Increased is simply reducing the chance that the enemy can detect them while they are hiding. It wasnt particularly useful since Marx and his gremlin brethren were skilled in stalking their prey, but a power up is never a bad thing.

After that, Marx decided to head back. He doesnt want to press his luck and end up in a situation where he might not be able to return.

-:-

**Day 29**

Heavy rain met the gremlin community today, thus Marx decided to call off any outdoor activities.

First on Marx's agenda was to hear Hali's report on Riz's overall behavior the past few days.

As expected, Hali's report cements the fact that Riz is both a Sadist and a Masochist, though she leans more to the M side.

Mind you, Riz has consistently performed her duties well, but there are times that a certain feeling of sexual elation can be felt from her despite not in a situation that called for it.

Since there is no impact in her efficiency, Marx decided to leave it be for now. Never the less, he told Hali to continue monitoring the situation.

Hali agreed but under one condition. She simply asked to borrow Marx's right hand for a few seconds.

Unsure of what it ment, Marx simply allowed Hali to do what she wants.

Hali holds Marx's hand, then suddenly inserted his middle finger into her mouth and licked it.

Marx instinctively pulled his hand away and asked Hali what the hell was that all about.

Hali simply smiled innocently and went on her merry way.

Marx knew that her action ment something but he wasnt sure what it was. He decided to consult Geezer about it and the answer he received was most unsettling.

Apparently that action signifies that the female has allowed the male to have smexy time with her at his convenience. This is considered a great honor for a male since females normally are the once to decided when and with whom they will sleep with. This literally means that Hali considers Marx as more than a mere sex toy.

As flattered as Marx is, he finds having smexy time with ugly creatures the size of a 5 year old child extremely disturbing.

He decided to set this matter aside for now.

His next agenda is to talk to Dor about the possibility of crafting accessories. In the days when Elder Tale was still a game, the basis of a character's strength lies in his equipment.

Accessories in particular normally offers a wide range of effects despite their relatively small size.

Dor actually has plans to make accessories, however, there was a big problem that hindered him. Compared to weapons and armor, decent accessories required ingredients that were much harder to obtain.

An example of these ingredients are dragon's teeth, a basilisks eye, a water from a magical lake, etc.

Essentially, Dor requires drops from fairly strong monsters in order to make a half decent accessory.

Dor suggest that they put the idea on hold for now until they have the proper tools for the trade.

Next, Marx visits Rashid to check on his progress.

The old naga presented Marx with a bunch of new items. 1 **Kite Shield**, 10 **Black Gladius **and 1 **Mage Edge**.

The Kite Shild was given to Adra for obvious reasons.

The 10 Black Gladius was kept in storage for now. Marx decided that these would be given to those who are able to successfully evolve.

Marx asked Rashid created another staff/spear.

Apparently, the old naga could spot a few gremlins who might be capable of magic in the near future. Since staffs are much harder to make than swords or armor, Rashid decided to start early before he gets swamped by orders.

When Marx asked which gremlin did Rashid think were capable of magic, the old naga instantly pointed out Hali.

Indeed she does exhibit a high level of intelligence and is a bit weak on the combat side. While Marx is a bit reluctant to even talk to her, he decided that it is within his best interest to build up a good relationship in the future.

Last but not the least, Marx proceeded to learn the last spell available from his book Introduction to Magic.

**New Skill Acquired: Thunder Shock**

PIKACHUUUUUUUUUUU!

He was curious of what it looked like, thus he decided to test it out.

Marx went to the entrance of the cave and fired off a Thunder Shock at some random object outside.

Unfortunately, the Thunder Shock of this world is not as flashy as the ones you see in Pokemon. The lightning is pure white and it happens so fast that Marx could barely catch a glance of it

As for the damage, he wasnt entirely sure how strong the spell is. He will have to wait for tomorrow to test it out.

At some point in time, Riz stood beside Marx and forcefully held his hand. It was a sweet gesture if it wasnt for the bone crushing force that she applied in her grip.

Marx asked what was wrong.

Riz simply replied that she misses him.

True enough, the leadership exercise forced their tightly nit group apart, but it was a necessary action in order for Marx to realize his ambition.

He is a bit guilty of making Riz sad, so as punishment, Riz demanded that both of them sit in front of the cave and watch the rain.

With Riz leaning on his arm, the two passed the time peacefully.

-:-

**Day 30**

The day began with a pleasant surprise.

Hali evolved into an Orc.

Just like a standard Orc, Hali's body is that of a girl in her mid teens with short light blue hair and an energetic pair of eyes.

The difference between her and Riz is that Hali is on the slim side. She is about half a head shorter than Riz and her proportions are that of a marathon runner. It gave her an energetic sports minded tomboyish childhood friend vibe.

And just like Rashid stated, Hali had an aptitude for magic.

After teaching her a few spells, Hali proved that she is most capable at using fire based spells.

Not only could she cast Flare Arrow with relative ease, she also somehow knows how to use the stronger AoE **Fire Ball** as well.

When Marx asked when she learned this, she replied that she just knew how to use it after learning Flare Arrow.

Pleased with her evolution, Marx rewarded her with a Mage Edge staff. It was a bit oversized for her due to her lolita body, but she found no problems wielding it.

Hali forcefully kissed Marx in the lips in thanks.

Fortunately, no one was able to witness this scene, thus Marx was unharmed.

Marx cant help but fear for the future. He was never the one who could deal with Genki Girls .

Once again, the day goes by with Marx soloing the labyrinth while the others continue on with the leadership training.

He was starting to feel a bit lonely but he decides to endure it. Something just cant be helped.

He goes through the labyrinth with relative ease thanks to his Earth Shaper skill.

Today his target is to hunt another Stalker Fiend simply because it tastes like chocolate. Unfortunately, there was no Stalker Fiend in the places where he has already discovered, thus he was forced to search some unknown territories.

This was a big mistake.

After an hour of exploring and battling with monsters, Marx stepped on a trap.

It was a one way teleportation trap and it sent him in a garden of an impressive yet evil looking castle floating in the middle of a dark sea.

He quickly looked around for an exit, but it seems that the only means to escape was going up to one of the bridges above him. Unfortunately, due to the distance between him and the bridge, it would take him atleast 20 minutes of non stop Earth Shaper casting in order to create a long enough passageway.

And to make things worse, his Threat Detection skill suddenly warned him of an enemy standing right in front of him. Not a second later, a massive entity appears out of nowhere.

It was a humanoid covered in pure white cloth that stands 7' to 7'5" in height. It glowed with divine light as if it was an angel from heaven. In contrast to that, it wields a decently sized scythe and its face is that of a skull made out of pure silver.

It didnt take Marx long to understand that the one in front of him was powerful beyond words. Not even the Earth Golem could probably match it.

Marx wanted to escape but he was trapped in the castle.

There was really no other option.

He had to fight with no thought of preserving his strength.

And so, the battle began between Marx and the **Angel Of Death**

-:-


End file.
